NDTV's We the People and Barkha Dutt is an honourable woman”.

[Guest guest]

Dear All

The telecast on 2nd September on NDTV’s “We the People” programme about

Legalizing or decriminalizing sex work was a huge disappointment.

It turned out to be an attempt to grapple with peripheral issues

related to sex work at best and at worst it was just a sham. The timing was on

spot. The WCD was trying to usher in amendments to the ITPA which had severe

implications on the national HIV response and negative ramifications of massive

proportions in the lives of

thousands of sex workers across the country.

As the telecast began, Ms. Barkha Dutt laid out the framework for discussions

which was to revolve around the proposed amendments to the ITPA.

However, it was unfortunate that much of the discussion veered away on

how women enter into sex work and the morality, immorality, philosophy etc.,

surrounding it. This simply led to a debate on these issues and the focus was

lost vis-à-vis the stated framework.

Nothing, yes nothing was discussed about the impact of the proposed amendments

on the HIV/AIDS scenario.

NACO through the NACP III is planning to spend a staggering 1000 plus crores on

intervention and this law will counter the efforts of HIV prevention.

With the possibility of arrests of clients, the entire sex work

industry will go underground and into the hands of the mafia rendering at least

a decade of HIV prevention activities to naught and future prevention

meaningless. You would think Ms. Dutt would have given it a precious few seconds

of air time, wouldn’t you?

While the do-gooders in the society have well-intentioned purposes of amending

law to benefit sex workers, they should not be blind to the fact that women in

sex work should ultimately have a say in whether the amendments are really for

their good.

The effort to bring them to the table should not pale out as tokenism, but must

be reflected in seriously considering and acting upon their recommendations - a

golden opportunity to demonstrate the much hyped “respect for the community”.

The knee-jerk attempt by the govt. seems to promise decriminalization of women

in sex work without decriminalizing sex work.

Would it have been too much for Ms. Dutt to have brought these issues in the

discussions? After all, we are talking about the lives and livelihood of only a

few million sex workers.

It was highly amusing to find Ms. Barkha Dutt sitting next to a sex worker who

has been in the profession for over quarter of a century and asking her how she

entered into sex work. Meaningless and meandering.

What did she expect to establish? That the woman was trafficked into it? If she

had admitted she was trafficked twenty five years ago, maybe Ms. Dutt would have

offered a rehab package?!

The discussion went on and on about whether a woman should become a salesgirl or

a sex worker? Till a sex worker had to spell out, “If you had a job paying Rs.

5000/- a month and there is another offering Rs. 22,000/- a month, which one

would you take?”

Yet the attempt seemed to conflate trafficking and sex work. And it went on and

on giving the onlookers a feeling that there was much

intellectual masturbation happening on screen with one of the speakers suffering

loudly in paranoia that thegovernment was conspiring to set up a brothel next to

her house.

Ms. Dutt should be congratulated on her brave initiative to bring issues related

to sex workers to the fore.

The AIDS pandemic has provided an opportunity to make the mainstream sit up and

acknowledge the presence of sex workers amidst them.

Sadly it was another instance of a lost opportunity. In the midst of the

commotion that was happening on the studio floors, Ms. Dutt should have thought

of changing the program title from “We the people” to “We are also the people”.

It would have been more apt.

As the show ended with little discussion happening on the proposed amendments I

could not but get a sneaky feeling that yet another conspiracy has been pulled

off with sex workers once again being at the receiving end.

I felt like Mark and shouted, “…and Barkha Dutt is an honourable woman”.

In disappointment

Sreeram

Sreeram Varadadesikan

e-mail: <setlurs01@...>

[Guest guest]

Dear FORUM,

Re: /message/7860

Sreeram's heartfelt disappointment at the outcome of the program is

understandable. The problem with 'generalist' journalists, and particularly

celebrity ones like Barkha Dutt, is that they have no specialist knowledge on

any particular issue. So when they host a show on any subject they rely on some

superficial research, which is probably done by some junior flunkeys, and they

draft out the different sections based on this. Though I didnt watch the

program, I can well imagine how half-baked research could have led to a

situation where the real issues get sidelined.

Second, Barkha Dutt may be a journalist but she is also a part of our society.

Her biases, whatever they may be, is a reflection of our own attitudes towards

sex workers. Berating the woman who aired her paranoia about a brothel in her

neighbourhood is not going to change attitudes. Her concerns need to be

addressed as much as the livelihood issues of sex workers. After all we all

belong to the same society.

For any meaningful discussion to take place all parties have to understand each

others' concerns and before that happens, we need an information campaign on a

large scale - where media as wells as other sections of society are made aware

of the issues at stake.

Adite Chatterjee

E-MAIL: <adite99@...>