Sonagachi is one of the largest red light area in asia.It is home to around 10000 residential sex workers.The sex workers have been out of work due to the pandemic and lockdown, and have no other source of income.
A survey conducted by an NGO in 2020 stated that 89 percent of the sex workers have fallen into debt bondage.
Sex workers who are also mothers have to struggle each and every day in order to run their family . It is no less than a challenge to keep their children educated and healthy .
On 12 th of July , 2021 , the Indian Government listed the new anti trafficking bill which is Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2021. The objective of the bill is “to prevent and counter trafficking in persons, especially women and children, to provide for care, protection, and rehabilitation to the victims, while respecting their rights, and creating a supportive legal, economic and social environment for them,” the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development has said.
The sex workers and activists criticize the bill as the bill aims to criminalize sex work and does not provide any other alternative or rehabilitation to the women who are already in the profession willingly.
The definition of prostitution given in the encyclopaedia of social science is “prostitution is the practice in which a female offers her body for promiscuous sexual intercourse for hire etc.
Every person has the right to use his or her body according to their will. Criminalizing prostitution cannot be the solution to the exploitation against women.The women who already are in the profession are now struggling each day to maintain their families .
Furthermore , this bill does not recognise sex work as a form of work which not only eliminates the trade but also gives space for more exploitations due to lack of safety nets or labour protection .
Sex work and sex trafficking are two different words with different meaning . Sex work can also be seen as a self employment for the women or men who chooses it as a profession willingly .
The bill has been drafted with the victim in mind. People who favour the bill’s enforcement have made the point that the focus is on victim protection and rehabilitation, which is critical and lacking in current laws. In this situation, the victims should not feel trapped or hopeless. If they have been subjected to physical abuse, this bill should make it easier for them to speak up and be fearless.
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