Why in News?
- Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee (DMSC), a pioneering sex workers’ rights collective from Kolkata’s Sonagachi, celebrated 30 years of existence on July 15, 2024.
- The organisation has been central in advancing sex workers’ rights, HIV/AIDS prevention, and social recognition.
- The event highlighted debates on decriminalisation, workers’ rights, and social stigma in India.
Relevance
- GS I (Society): Social empowerment, stigma, women’s movements.
- GS II (Polity & Governance): Rights of marginalised, SC judgments, labour rights.
- GS III (Social Justice & Health): HIV/AIDS control, trafficking, SDG 3 (health), SDG 5 (gender equality), SDG 8 (decent work).
- Essay/Case Study material: Women empowerment, dignity of labour, “Rights vs Morality” debates.
Basics
- Sonagachi:
- Asia’s largest red-light district, located in North Kolkata.
- Houses around 12,000 sex workers, with another 28,000 associated through DMSC across West Bengal.
- Historically stigmatized yet culturally significant (soil from Sonagachi used in Durga idol-making).
- Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee (DMSC):
- Founded in 1992, initially as an HIV/AIDS prevention initiative led by Dr. Samajit Jana under WHO survey.
- Evolved into a sex workers’ collective, demanding labour rights, social protection, and decriminalisation.
- Works with cisgender women, transgender people, and male sex workers.
- Key initiatives:
- Condom distribution & HIV prevention campaigns.
- USHA Multipurpose Cooperative Society (1995) – Asia’s first sex workers’ financial cooperative.
- Community-based monitoring against trafficking, with over 2,000 rescues/rehabilitations.
- Legal interventions (e.g., winning right to celebrate Durga Puja in 2013 despite resistance).
Overview
Legal & Policy Context
- Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 (ITPA):
- Does not criminalise sex work per se, but penalises brothel-keeping, soliciting, and living off earnings of sex work → indirectly criminalises livelihood.
- Supreme Court (2022): Directed police not to harass consenting sex workers; recognised right to dignity under Article 21.
- Debate: Rights groups argue for full decriminalisation (New Zealand model), not partial legalisation (Netherlands model).
Socio-economic Dimensions
- Drivers into sex work: Poverty, dowry pressures, lack of employment, migration.
- Economic empowerment: Many support families, children’s education, marriages, healthcare.
- Financial inclusion: DMSC’s cooperative provides access to savings and loans, reducing dependence on moneylenders.
Human Rights Concerns
- Stigma & discrimination:
- Denied entry into temples, pandals.
- Face housing discrimination, violence, exclusion from welfare schemes.
- Violence & health risks:
- Exposure to abusive clients, extortion, trafficking.
- Yet HIV prevention success in Sonagachi is globally cited (UNAIDS case study).
DMSC’s Rights-based Approach
- Slogan: “Only rights can stop the wrong”.
- Pushes for:
- Recognition of sex work as labour under Indian labour laws.
- Access to welfare schemes (ration cards, Aadhaar, pensions, insurance).
- Protection from workplace harassment like any other worker.
Global Perspective
- Decriminalisation models:
- New Zealand (2003 Prostitution Reform Act): Full decriminalisation, rights & health safeguards.
- Nordic model: Criminalises buyers, not sellers → criticised for pushing trade underground.
- India’s policy remains ambivalent – progressive judicial recognition vs. regressive statutory framework.
Key Takeaways
- Sonagachi exemplifies the intersection of poverty, stigma, and resilience.
- DMSC’s 30-year journey shows how community-led organisations can achieve health security, financial empowerment, and social recognition.
- The larger debate is whether India should move towards full decriminalisation of sex work, aligning with constitutional values of dignity (Art. 21), equality (Art. 14), and freedom of livelihood (Art. 19(1)(g)).
Value Additions:
Data & Reports
- Global:
- UNAIDS (2012): Sonagachi model reduced HIV prevalence among sex workers from ~11% in early 1990s to below 5% by mid-2000s.
- ILO (2018): Estimated 42 million sex workers globally, of which 80% are women.
- India:
- NACO (2021): HIV prevalence among female sex workers in India = 1.56%, significantly below global average.
- National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB 2022): ~6,500 cases registered under ITPA annually – showing continued criminalisation in practice.
- ILO study (2015): 87% sex workers in India entered due to lack of alternative livelihood.
Committees & Commissions
- Justice Verma Committee (2013): Recommended decriminalisation of sex workers to protect them from exploitation.
- Supreme Court Panel on Sex Workers (2011–2022): Recognised sex workers’ rights to dignity, directed States to provide Aadhaar, ration cards, voter IDs.
- National Human Rights Commission (NHRC): Advocated for treating sex work as work, not as criminal activity.
