|
Women in prostitution
The need for informed intervention
Prostitution is often said to be the oldest profession.The exchange of
sexual favours for money, prestige or position has been recorded in epics,
mythology, poetry, drama, song, mime, puppetry - —all form of expression
that try to convey the nature of relationships between human beings.
Indian history is unique in documenting both the open acknowledgement of
prostitution and the state’'s responsibility to protect the rights of
prostitute women. Kautilya’s Arthashastra (320 BC - 150 AD) has a
chapter titled "The Chief Controller of Entertainers’ (Courtesans,
Brothels, Prostitutes and other Entertainers) Responsibilities", in
which he makes a distinction between prostitution and trafficking, and
emphasises the absolute necessity of the willingness and consent of the
prostitute to engage in a sexual relationship.
The treatise stresses the following for the protection of prostitutes:
-
The proper procedure shall be followed to take a virgin daughter of a
prostitute…coercive methods shall not be used
-
No one shall abduct a prostitute, keep her confined against her wil lor
spoil her beauty by wounding her.
-
A client shall not relieve a prostitute of her jewellery, ornaments or belongings, nor cheat her of the payment due to her.
Victimised even by the law
In modern times the courtesan tradition seems to have been replaced in
many places in India by a more exploitative devadasi system which
made the woman public property and deprived her the right to independent
choice. The devadasi system was first described in the British
Parliament in 1885 as the "debauched primissiveness" of India,
and was used to support the argument for "civilising" it. The
approach was consolidated in the Immoral Traffic (Suppression) Act (SITA).
The abolitionist trend continues, with the Immoral Traffic (Prevention)
Act (PITA) currently in force.
PITA’s principal mandate is to prevent the traffic of women and children
into prostitution. Unfortunately, the actual enforcement of the law has
been mainly against the same women and children it is supposed to protect.
An examination of the records of convictions under PITA in Chennai and
other cities and towns in Tamilnadu, shows that over 90 per cent of those
arrested under PITA have been picked up under Section 8 of the Act for
"seducing or soliciting for purposes of prostitution, in a
manner/place that makes her a public nuisance." It appears that
prostitutes may exist, but must not be seen. Interestingly, women who have
challenged their arrests under this section of PITA have invariably been
acquitted due to lack of evidence. However, since most women are too
ignorant and too frightened to go to court, they continue to be arrested
in large numbers.
Section 4 of the Act says that any person over the age of 18 years who
knowingly lives off the earnings out of prostitution of a girl or woman,
either wholly or in part, "shall be punishable with imprisonment for
a term which may extend to two years". This obviously implies that
the prostitute woman may support herself with her earnings, yet she
herself is usually the one who is arrested and punished.
A typical scene in court during the post-lunch session is of a group of
women, arrested the previous night, huddled near the witness stand while
their pimps and owners stroll in the compound. A court clerk calls out the
name of the woman and reads the number of the section of the law; the
judge looks at the woman and nods his head; the woman whispers a ‘yes’ and
is fined anywhere between Rs. 300 and Rs. 1,000. She then leaves
hurriedly to borrow the money. Often the owner will pay up, but the
amount, plus an interest rate that can reach 125-150 per cent, is debited
to her account. She now has to return to the streets or the brothel to
repay the debt. The Indian state collects a revenue of around Rs. 5 crore
annually from these women through court imposed fines. In addition,
lawyers’ fees amount to about Rs. 9 crore and the mamool (extortion
money) collected by the police amounts to about Rs. 5 crore (a minimum of
Rs. 50-100 as protection money per month per woman, for every 100,000
women prostituting themselves throughout the country). These women must be
among the group of taxpayers paying the highest proportion of their income
as taxes.
A prostitute does not earn only for herself; she sells sex for her
children, for her family. A study by the Central Social Welfare Board
shows that over 60 per cent of the women in prostitution are dalits.
Nearly 50 per cent maintain independent households. The average
25-year-old woman prostitute has two children solely dependent on her.
Any serious discussion on prostitution has to consider several significant
factors. The woman engaged in prostitution is only one factor in the
institution of prostitution. Key players include the brothel keepers and
pimps, financiers, procurers, kidnappers, the police, people with
influence in government, and the "mainstream" client population.
Women prostitutes say that, Many retired government officials manage
prostitution as a business. Since they have influential connections, they
are protected from any exposure and punishment. Court records in every
state show that law enforcement agencies almost exclusively target the
prostituting women for arrest, instead of punishing the other participants
in the business.
Under PITA, prostituting oneself is not illegal. A prostitute can only be
arrested for "soliciting in a public place". The major
categories of offence are trafficking of women and children, and (a third
party) living off the earnings of a prostitute.
However, despite the provisions the law enforcers, mainly the police,
lose no opportunity to target, extort money from, and systematically
punish the women for behaving "immorally". Severe beatings are
commonplace; women are forced to hand over the jewellery and/or money that
they may be carrying; in addition, in many instances, they are threatened
with eviction and public humiliation.
A survey in Tamil Nadu, conducted by the National Commission for Women in
1996 to identify the origin and causes of child prostitution, exploded the
myth that most women in prostitution had been trafficked. Nearly 50 per
cent of the women interviewed were in prostitution with the covert
knowledge of their families. Over 80 per cent were from rural areas.
Though many women had studied up to the secondary level, none had skills
that would get them a job. A surprisingly high number had been sexually
abused within the family and had been forced to leave home. A prostitute
reports: "Most of us are survivors of incest by our family members.
In several cases, denial and shame has made us enter sex trade. Our
family members prevented us from even whispering about this out of their
fear of social ostracisation, and the stigma that they might have to
face." Despite this, over half the women supported their parents,
paid for the education of their brothers and got their sisters
married.
Continuing gender discrimination and the failure of the state to provide
women opportunities for education and economic independence is the single
largest factor that fuels the entry of women into prostitution. A
prostitute explained: "In my village, the only future I had was to get
married, have children, work in the fields, work in the house, obey my
husband and slave for his family. I wanted to earn my own money, wear
nice clothes and go out with my friends. I thought that I would have a
better life in a city. I did not mind having sex. I knew I would have to
do it if I got married, even if I did not like the man. At least this way
I would have my freedom. In the beginning, I was beaten, raped and abused
by pimps, police and rowdies. Now, I have learnt to survive. Why should I
leave now? When I wanted to study and to find a good job, nobody helped -
—not my family, not the government. Now what right does anybod have to
make me stop?"
The induction of a woman into prostitution —even when she has not been
forced —is often accompanied by gang rape, torture and violence in order
to subjugate her will. At this point, the woman would give almost anything
to escape, but is unable to do so because the pimps and brothel keepers
guard her carefully, even from other women. Her only access is to the
client or the pimp. By the time she is free to prostitute herself more
openly, she no longer wishes to leave because she has already paid a high
price to learn her new trade. Besides, not only has she no other skills,
she is also ostracised by all other sections of society for being a
prostitute.
The woman in prostitution is doubly penalised - —first by being forced
into a position where she cannot make her own choices, and then by being
hounded by the state for being a prostitute. Social attitudes remain
hostile towards single women. Most women who are deserted by their
husbands are stigmatised, and the state is unable to enforce payment of
adequate maintenance. A prostitute describes her situation: "After I
was deserted by my husband, I was not taken in either by my family, my
friends or my husband’s family. I had to learn to support my children and
myself. I never imagined that I would sell my body for sex; but at least
here I get paid for the sex. In my earlier job, I would not be given a
work contract if I did not sleep with the supervisor."
The prostitutes'’ rights movements in India started in the late 1980s.
Even then, societal attention was forced to focus on the prostitute
because of the threat of AIDS, not because of the exploitation of the
women themselves; prostitutes were claimed to be the main vectors of the
spread of the disease, but little hard evidence was provided to support
this. Most organisations that started working with the women were also
similarly motivated. However, they soon saw the enormous violence that the
women were subjected to by brothel keepers, pimps and clients, and more
surprisingly, by the state.
There have been different responses to the situation and much debate about
prostitution law reforms. The common trends can be summarised as:
-
Decriminalisation: This usually means the repeal of laws against
consensual adult sexual activity, whether paid or unpaid. This calls for
making a distinction between consensual sex between adults, and
trafficking of women and children. This approach entails the enforcement
of laws against fraud, abuse, violence and coercion, in order to protect
prostitutes from abusive and exploitative managements.
-
Abolition: Historically, abolitionists have dedicated themselves
to rescuing women from prostitution, and training women to find
alternative careers or security in marriage. Abolitionist groups want to
end the institution of prostitution altogether, envisioning a world where
no one has to sell sexual services for any reason. In India, several
womens’ groups have branded AIDS education and prevention interventions
with women in prostitution as immoral and leading to increased
prostitution. The abolitionist approach pre-supposes the widespread
existence of what is not a reality—gender equality, economic opportunity
and social support for women to pursue viable autonomous livelihood
options.
-
Regulation: The "regulation of prostitution" usually
refers to the criminal regulation of prostitution, but prostitutes’ rights
activists also refer to regulation in terms of both civil and
self-regulation. They call for civil codes to regulate prostitute
businesses and also strengthen rights of women. Those who call for
autonomy, support solo and collective work arrangements, and prostitutes’
control of their own lives and businesses. The discussion on regulation is
primitive and non-circumspect because it is difficult to invoke concepts
of self-regulation in a context that presumes police control over
prostitutes.
-
Legalisation: Most societies that allow prostitution, do so by
giving the state control over the lives and businesses of those who work
as prostitutes. Although legalisation can be accomplished by creating a
decriminalised, autonomous system, in most legalised systems the police is
given the power to control prostitution through criminal codes. Special
laws regulate prostitutes businesses and lives in a discriminatory
process, prescribe often humiliating health checks and registration of
health status on them (often enforced by corrupt authorities) but not on
their clients, limit prostitute women to certain geographic areas in the
city, segregate the prostitute and her family from the rest of society,
and so on.
Concluding Obeservations
Creating a framework for a discussion on the rights of women prostitutes
is not easy. This is particularly true in the Indian context, where an
overwhelmingly large number of the women are from rural areas where there
is little opportunity beyond bare survival for many girl children; a
majority are from dalit castes; a significantly high proportion have been
sexually abused within the family. Most of the times, the trafficking of
women has been facilitated by the social, psychological, and economic
conditions in our country, rather than by organised criminal networks. The
existing explicit laws target the prostitute and discriminate against her,
instead of protecting her from exploitation and harassment by law
enforcement authorities and abuse by other state agencies.
Shyamala Nataraj
Manushi, Issue 124 (May-June 2001)
Manushi content is reproduced on India Together with permission. Click
here to visit the Manushi home page
|