Sex work also called as ‘Prostitution’ is practised by women, trans-genders and queers. Sex workers are recognised as informal workers under the category ‘women at work’. In India, prostitution is not legalised but organised sex work is allowed.
According to the Immoral Traffic (Suppression) Act, prostitutes can practise their trade privately but cannot legally solicit customers in public. There are many areas in various states like Kamathipura in Mumbai, Meergunj in Allahabad, and GB road in Delhi etc. where sex workers stay and practise their trade.
The history of prostitution appears in the literature of a few centuries after the Vedas and it is also believed that it existed before that too. Women who couldn’t find suitable husbands, got widowed early and had an unsatisfactory married life or those who suffered from societal pressure were involved in sex work. Later in the early 16th and 17th centuries the Portuguese traded Japanese women and girls to Goa as slaves. Later in the 19th century, the British brought women of poor rural Indian families and thus was how the red-light areas of present India formed.
Why sex work?
In India, women still carry on with sex work because it gives them more freedom, autonomy over their bodies, higher earnings and flexible hours of work. The main reason is the poverty they face which forces them to continue the business. Also the lack of education opens no other employment opportunities. Some girls are by tradition born into prostitution and they do it just to support their family..
Why is it not a job?
Though there are people who provide help and also support the prostitutes, they are discriminated against by a lot others as women give up their bodies to men and it is not acceptable. Sex workers have always envisioned a life of dignity, free from violence, stigma and discrimination. The other forms of labour have the employer who pays for the product of the work but the prostitute’s physical labour is the commodity just like the actors and so they can be called as entertainers who provide pleasurable work for their customers.
There are many people who do not view sex work as a job. They consider that sex work promotes the notion of naked women being objects of exploitation. It is believed by them that no good women would engage in any work that supports violence against women. Sex workers are also targeted as they are called to spread HIV. Majority of the sex workers belong to lower caste and so it involves exploitation of them by the upper caste. Trafficking of women and girls is also an issue and surveys have revealed that there are 1.2 million children involved in prostitution.
The pandemic has certainly caused a lot of trouble to the sex workers and though there are NGOs working for them, the relief works provided to other marginalized groups does not include the sex workers.
Pros of sex work
All women are not provided with adequate education and these mostly belong to the poor sections of the society. This job enables them to support their families financially. Very few of the children of the sex workers move forward with the same job as they are provided with better education. Compared to the earlier times the sex workers are made more aware of the sexually transmitted diseases. Many NGOs work for the wellness and create awareness for the public and the sex workers. Women who don’t want to carry on their life as prostitutes are also provided with rehabilitation centres.
Way forward
- Legalisation is necessary as the minors can be protected and the removal of middlemen will lead to an increase in wages.
- Forced prostitution can be eliminated when sex work gets legalised.
- The programs to create awareness about the health issues are to be held more by NGOs. Regular health check-ups and access to adequate birth control tools are also necessary.
- Education is really important so the sex workers and the children of the sex workers have to be supported.
- Rehabilitation centres for the women who want to end their sexual work have to be increased and these centres must be maintained and taken care of as most of the rehabs are equivalent to prisons.
- Trafficking of girls has to be restricted and better laws have to be made for it.
- Laws to recognize and protect the prostitutes have to be created. Anti-discriminatory laws must be introduced in society.
Every person has the right to use his/her body according to one’s will and nobody has the right to force a person to adhere to somebody’s will. Humans are to be respected and prostitutes are humans too. They are to be protected from discrimination. Our country supports and gives the freedom for people to opt for the jobs that they desire. Thus it is their right to be respected and recognized in society.
Please go through the following links for more information:
- Feminist’s Argument On How Sex Work Can Benefit Women – http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/28/a-feminists-argument-on-how-sex-work-can-benefit-women
- Sex workers and their children long for freedom – https://www.giveindia.org/blog/sex-workers-and-their-children-long-for-freedom/
- Legality of Sex Work in India – https://www.onefuturecollective.org/law-and-gender-the-legality-of-sex-work-in-india/
- Recognising sex work as work – https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/recognising-sex-work-as-work/article34746344.ece
- How Sex Workers Interact with the Legal System – https://youtu.be/BVddLmNfQoQ
- Life of sex workers inside Mumbai’s Kamathipura during the coronavirus lockdown – https://youtu.be/Zk2M8MugyNc
- Cases of minors being forcedinto flesh trade on the rise – https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Vijayawada/cases-of-minors-being-forcedinto-flesh-trade-on-the-rise/article32777328.ece
