SC order on sex work, an earnest attempt

In a significant development, the Supreme Court of India has asked the police to not interfere or take any criminal actions against sex workers, who work willingly. The SC further added that sex workers are entitled to a dignified life and it is guaranteed to them by the Constitution of India under Article 21. A three-judge Supreme Court bench headed by Justice L Nageswara Rao on May 25 pronounced that voluntarily getting involved in sex work is not illegal but running a brothel is.

"Sex workers are entitled to equal protection of the law. Criminal law must apply equally in all cases on the basis of age and consent. When it is clear that the sex worker is an adult and is participating with consent, the police must refrain from interfering or taking any criminal action. It need not be gainsaid that notwithstanding the profession, every individual in this country has the right to a dignified life under Article 21 of the Constitution," said the order.

The court further ordered the police to make sure that they do not arrest, penalise, harass, or victimise in raids on brothels and make sure that a child is not separated from the mother if found in a brothel. The baby of a sex worker should not be taken away from his or her mother solely because she works in the sex trade. The court also added that if a child is found living with sex workers then the police should not presume that the minor was trafficked.

"Basic protection of human decency and dignity extends to sex workers and their children," the bench said. It has taken a long long time for the judiciary to settle the issue thus. Several NGOs and organizations have been fighting for justice to these 'sex victims' referred to as sex workers in our country. These have always been victims throughout the world and even faced death till some years ago in Europe and the US. There have been powerful arguments against criminalizing the profession yet no one bothered to lend an ear to the argument.

Criminalising adult, voluntary, and consensual sex – including the commercial exchange of sexual services – is incompatible with the human right to personal autonomy and privacy. In short – a government should not be telling consenting adults who they can have sexual relations with and on what terms. Criminalisation exposes sex workers to abuse and exploitation by law enforcement officials, such as police officers.

Human Rights Watch has documented that, in criminalised environments, police officers harass sex workers, extort bribes, and physically and verbally abuse sex workers, or even rape or coerce sex from them. Research work proves that criminalisation makes sex worker more vulnerable to violence, including rape, assault and murder because these are the easy stigmatised targets. UNAIDS, public health experts, sex worker organisations, and other human rights organisations have found that criminalisation of sex work also has a negative effect on sex workers' right to health. The Supreme Court in this regard made several recommendations to the Centre and sought its response. Hope, the Centre opens its eyes and supports the move.