Hypocrisy on prostitution

The trouble with occupying the high moral ground is that reality tends to disappear from view. When news got around that there was to be a ...

The trouble with occupying the high moral ground is that reality tends to disappear from view. When news got around that there was to be a national conference of sex workers in Calcutta, some women8217;s groups immediately perceived it as a 8220;brazen attempt to make vice an organised means of living8221;. So what is to be done? Simple, say these women, bring in the vice squads, arrest the pimps, outlaw prostitution, and then pretend the 8220;crime8221; does not exist. This is the classic posture of the ostrich which seeks to bury its head in the sand rather than confront problems. What is forgotten in the process is that prostitution is the oldest profession in the world. If it has survived the efforts of religious reformers and social movements over the centuries, it is unlikely to disappear because it offends the sensibilities of the moral rearmament army.

Ironically, it is precisely such a blinkered approach that had resulted in the enactment of extremely unjust laws like the Suppression of Immoral Traffic in Women and Girls Act, 1956, which later became the Prevention of Immoral Traffic Act PITA. The Act was meant to 8220;protect8221; women from prostitution. It ended up victimising the victims.

While clients could not be punished, women 8220;soliciting for the act of prostitution8221; ended up with long prison terms and fines or having to pay bribes to avoid such incarceration. This does not mean that women and children are not exploited in the most despicable manner through prostitution or that serious efforts to crack down on the criminalisation of the trade should not be made. In fact, it is precisely by recognising that prostitution exists in society can any meaningful intervention be made to protect this extremely vulnerable group.

This is why the three-day Calcutta conference, in which more than 2,000 male and female sex workers from all over the subcontinent participated for the first time, is important. Instead of remaining marginalised, these men and women wish to be recognised as human beings with rights like other workers, including the right to live without fear. The conference also brought to the centrestage the vexed issue of licensing. There are two schools of thought within the community on whether sex workers should be provided with licences. While those arguing against it say that it could invite harassment from the police and state officials, others feel that it would help fight criminalisation and make the future more secure for these women and men.

As some argued at the conference, the exploitation of prostitutes by the politician-police-criminal nexus can only be addressed if they are given licences. It is really up to the prostitutes themselves to decide whether this measure is in their own best interest. But there is no gainsaying the fact that everything, from ensuring the efficient distribution of condoms and the monitoring of HIV positive cases to providing proper schooling facilities for the children, hinges on social and legal recognition being extended to these people who have resided thus far in the twilight zone of 8220;polite society8221;.