Chambers of Ishaan Garg
Ch. No. 217, Western Wing, District & Sessions Court, Tis Hazari, New Delhi, Delhi 110054
+91 8851742417, +91 8800386163
✓ Important for essay and basic legal awareness
Synopsis of the Article
✓ Why and What of Sex Workers
✓ History & Evolution of Sex workers
✓ Legal Position of Sex workers clarified
✓ International Position
✓ Violation of Rights of Sex workers
✓ Case laws
✓ Recent Updates and Conclusion.
Meaning of Sex Workers
“Prostitution” means the sexual exploitation or abuse of persons for commercial purpose
[Pimp or Panders are type of agent or abeters]
* This is from PITA Act however the definition of WHO is simple one who does business in exchange of sexual work, it can be done in many ways and by all gender.
History of Sex workers
✓ 2nd Oldest Profession in The World
History of Vedic Age needs much research, do we are starting from devdasi, which is servant of god where women were dedicated to god and they practice arts and spirituality concurrently in a temple (dance
,music )
* Later on - From devotion to spirituality it was transformed bcz of invasion in early 2nd millennium and to save girls people were sending them to temples whether girls are skilled in arts or not and they performs dances for entertainment.
This was exacerbated after Europe invasions mainly britishers where due to poverty these girls have go indulge in these sex workers practices.
Legal Position in India
Althought India is a member of various conventions on rights of human/women and even constitution gives right still India lacks a lot in rpotection of their rights.
Immoral Traffick (Prevention) Act, 1956 is the Main Statute apart from it IPC also talks about it in children's context only. (Mention the provision if you know )
PITA Act prohibits certain actions that facilitate prostitution, These actions include managing a brothel, living off the money earned through prostitution, soliciting or luring a person into prostitution, trafficking children and women for prostitution, etc.
Article 23 prohibits human traficking and forced labour.
International Position
Countries such as Canada, Argentina, Germany, and the Netherlands have taken steps to decriminalise the profession and to regulate it, subjecting it to the same labour rules as any other Normal Profession.
Human Right Violation
According to almost every report whether amnesty international or Ministry of Women report.
All says - Health issues like HIV, legal protection issues due to biased behaviour by police and society, killings and the root causes are Poverty & unemployment, which is also due to many factors + Rape victims are to introduced here sometimes.
Landmark Judgments (Important)
State of Uttar Pradesh Vs. Kaushalya, Supreme Court held that the right of movement of prostitutes may be restricted on ground of Public Health and in the interest of Public Morals.
Kajal and others V. State of Maharashtra 2020
Adult woman has the right to choose her profession.
Recent Judgments and Conclusion
Budhadev Karmaskar v. State of West Bengal 2022
✓ Any sex worker who is a victim of sexual assault should be provided with all facilities available to a survivor of sexual assault, including immediate medical assistance, in accordance with Section 357C of the Code of Criminal Procedure
✓ Police should treat all sex workers with dignity, they enjoy all rights as other citizens.
✓ Press Council of India should be urged to issue appropriate guidelines for the media to take utmost care not to reveal the identities of sex workers, during arrest, raid and rescue operations, whether as victims or accused and not to publish or telecast any photos that would result in disclosure of such identities. Besides, the newly introduced Section 354C, IPC which makes voyeurism a criminal offence, should be strictly enforced against electronic media, in order to prohibit telecasting photos of sex workers with their clients in the garb of capturing the rescue operation.
These guidelines were mainly Issued.
