DG NACO promises review of line listing on Sex workers

[Guest guest]

Dear All

DG NACO promises review of line listing

Indian Network of Sex Workers (INSW) discussed grievances with DG NACO – Line

listing, forced testing to be stopped till further review.

 

Members of  INSW met with Sri Sayan Chatterjiee, Secretary & DG NACO on 17th

February, between 3 – 4 pm in Delhi. The DG along with Ms. Aradhana

Johri, Additional Secretary NACO, Dr. Neeraj Dhingra, Deputy Director General

(TI) and Mr. Manilal Programme Officer were present at the meeting.

The Indian Network of Sex workers were represented by 17 sex workers from the

states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and West

Bengal. They presented their concerns in the implementation of NACO's TI and its

adverse effects on community members.

 

The meeting was one of the first of its kind where top officials from the

National AIDS Control Program heard directly from the community based sex worker

organizations. The meeting provided an opportunity for sex workers to give NACO

a field based feed back of TI implementation.

 

The first concern expressed by members of INSW was about line listing which

mandated TIs to maintain personal data about sex workers and pressurized them to

share the data with non community persons from SACS and TSU which resulted in

many instances of compromising of confidentiality.

 

Secondly, the TI performance indicator that tracks number of sex workers tested

for HIV invariably results in forced testing making voluntary testing a mockery.

Further, this compromises peer educators who are forced to break confidentiality

resulting in rupturing friendships and hard earned relationships within the

community.

This has also resulted in societal violence against persons in sex work with

increased evictions and police violations of rights.

 

Ms. Aradhana Johri on behalf of the team from NACO explained that line listing

was not intended to traumatize the community but if it has done so an immediate

review of the same will be undertaken by NACO.

She expressed their happiness in obtaining field level feedback directly from

the community. They gave the sex worker presentations a patient hearing and have

promised to take up the issue with the NACO technical group on TI.

The DG opined that the issue was not insurmountable and he assured the INSW that

he will personally look into the matter. He also congratulated the women for

being forthright in expressing their concerns and acknowledged that these were

indeed grave in nature needing immediate steps to address them.

 

In solidarity,

 

Indian Network of Sex Workers.

 

Meena Seshu

e-mail: <meenaseshu@...>