Sex workers demand legal reform, 3 March, International Day of Sex Workers' Rights

[Guest guest]

SEX WORKERS DEMAND

LEGAL REFORM; RIGHTS AND RESPECT

3rd March

2011, New Delhi: On the occasion of International Day of Sex

Workers’ Rights, the National Network of Sex Workers (NNSW) urged Members

of Parliament (MPs) to adopt a fresh outlook towards prostitution and get rid

of laws that criminalise their work.

Having sex in exchange

for money is not an offence but everything around this transaction is

criminalized under the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956

[“ITPA”].

Brothels are illegal,

as is sex work in hotels, rooms, lodges, streets and nearly all other premises.

In the absence of a designated place, sex workers have to solicit business on

the streets or gesturing from other conspicuous sites. But this too is

punishable with imprisonment for six months and monetary fine. Describing the

absurdity of the law, Bharti Dey of NNSW said – “it’s like

telling a person that you can drink water but you cannot go to the well”

Further still, having

no place to service clients, sex workers have to escort them to unknown

locations, where their safety is at risk. Meena C Menon, NNSW member from

Surat, narrated how since the closure of their chakla in 2004, several

of her peers have been brutally injured, gangraped, even murdered when they

were out with clients. “Despite facing the worst excesses, sex workers

cannot seek legal relief as the Police are either complicit in or indifferent

to this violence” – said Tripti Tandon of the Lawyers

Collective, an NGO that advocates reforms in the ITPA.

The illegitimacy

attached to sex workers hounds their children as well. 16 year old Tanjula

Khatoon, who hails from Sonagachi red light area of Kolkata, said “My

mother’s earnings out of sex work support my education. She is keen that

I pursue higher studies and become a professional. But when I turn 18, I will

be liable to arrest as living on earnings of sex work is an offence under the

ITPA”.

On the one hand, the

government is concerned that children of sex workers do not enter their

mothers’ trade but on the other, they incapacitate the means through

which they can come out of prostitution.

“We shared

these and other concerns with MPs. They were understanding and supportive” - said Veena,

a transgender sex worker, who represents the Bangalore based Karnataka Sex

Workers’ Union.

Organized by the

Lawyers Collective on 1st March in New Delhi, the interaction

between sex workers and law makers saw several prominent MPs including Mani

Shanker Iyer, Basudev Acharia and Fernandes express firm support for

empowerment and give thumbs down to laws that create fear among sex workers.

Echoing the need for reform, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare,

Dinesh Trivedi, told the 200 sex workers in attendance - “Many laws,

instead of helping, get in the way of progress and welfare, and such laws, I

say, must change.”

Describing their meeting

with MPs as “positive and encouraging,” Bharti Dey reflected

– “everyone agreed that sex workers have the right to live with

dignity.” While some Parliamentarians like Prof. Sk. Saidul

Haque, felt that respect could be accorded by recognizing sex work as work,

others like J.D Seelam were of the opinion that dignity means not living a

stigmatized life. “But all MPs unanimously stated that criminalization

affronts sex workers’ dignity and must be done away with.”

Politicians also observed that while one may consider sex work immoral,

that does not make it illegal.

“In her

message, Mumbai M.P Priya Dutt addressed us as women with an unconventional

job, who are entitled to security, health and livelihood” –

exclaimed Kokila, who travelled all the way from Chennai to talk to law makers

about her profession.

This approach is in

contrast to the recent observations of the Supreme Court that wanted sex

workers to give up their work and take up other vocations. “This is

feeble sympathy”, remarked Veena. “What we need are

practical measures that free us from exploitative elements, which are a

creation of criminal law itself. If we can’t solicit clients without

getting arrested, we will naturally rely on pimps to carry on our trade.”

“We

will pursue the suggestions of MPs to raise debate on this complex yet pressing

issue” – said Tripti Tandon. All is not well with the

current law and there is a critical need for change. Sex workers have a long

drawn battle ahead. This 3rd March, they have made significant

strides towards realizing legal rights.

www.lawyerscollective.org