They say prostitution is the oldest profession in the world. And yet, this profession and the women who practice it are looked down upon, shunned and ostracised from 'polite' society. Now the Supreme Court in India has said that sex work is now to be recognised as work. It is now legal work and those plying this trade will no longer be penalised for it. This is a win for sex workers who had been agitating to be recognised as workers legally and without harassment from police.
"Notwithstanding the profession, every individual in this country has a right to a dignified life under Article 21," said the court. The court also directed that police should treat sex workers with dignity and refrain from abusing them in any manner. The publishing of pictures of sex workers and their clients during raid or rescue operations is also henceforth not to be permitted.
Whether someone was forced/trafficked into prostitution or chose sex work of their own volition is a separate matter. What is relevant here is that if a woman wants to engage in sex work, she has the right to choose her profession. The stigma around sex work needs to go. So, the SC has clarified that voluntary sex work is now legal.
Until now, sex workers had no protections under the law because prostitution was not legal. This robbed them of the rights that other workers have, deprived them and their children of a life of dignity and consigned them to the fringes of society. While running a brothel is still illegal, sex workers themselves cannot be arrested or punished or harassed.
This vital aspect – that of individual consent – is clarified in this move by the Supreme Court. If a woman (or any other gender presumably) consents to a transaction involving an exchange of sex for money, then this is not illegal. When two adults consent to enter into a contract of a service provided in exchange of consideration, this is no one's business but their own. Of course, trafficked women or those forced to engage in sex work against their will would be liable to be rescued and freed and their traffickers arrested and punished in accordance with the law.
This decision will make it possible for sex workers to file complaints for assault and other crimes committed against them. This hopefully will protect their rights to safer work environments (eg., insisting on the use of a condom etc.), and save them from harassment by police and other authorities. Some are apprehensive that this will force more girls into prostitution and encourage human traffickers. However, what we have seen in countries like Sweden is that decriminalising sex work actually does the opposite.
Sex workers will hopefully have protection from being exploited, blackmailed and intimidated by the threat of exposure, arrest and so on. We as a society have to change our mindsets and become more open to the fact that sex work has always been around and criminalising has not worked to curb it in any way. Treating sex work as illegal only serves to dehumanise sex workers, attach stigma to what they do, and leaves them open to violence, harassment, exploitation, and awful working conditions. Regardless of how a woman became a sex worker, if this is the profession she chooses, she should have the same protections as any other worker. Recognition of their work as work has long been the demand of sex workers. This is a progressive view and a historic decision from the Indian Supreme Court.
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