WHY I AM OUTRAGED BY NHRC’s ADVISORY FOR WOMEN?

Many people have asked directly or indirectly why I am opposed to the advisory on ‘Human Rights of Women in the context of Covid19’ issued by NHRC to the Government. 

So, at the outset let me clarify the advisory is a laudable effort to ensure that all women including women in “sex work”(I have serious problems with this word) who have gone through extremely challenging times due to the Covid pandemic have been recognized and some recommendations have been made to ameliorate the situation. 

So where is the problem?

There are two from my perspective:

1.     Recognizing women in sex work under the ‘Women At Work' category and describing them as work in informal space.

2.     Directing the Government under Clause III B(ii) to provide registration to these women as workers which states “sex workers may be registered as informal workers and be registered so they get worker’s benefit”   

So why I am I outraged? 

As a deeply convinced abolitionist I personally believe that flesh trade is the oldest form of oppression in the world. Triggered from a patriarchal framework which believes in commodifying a woman’s body as a sexual object & has normalized the sale of sexual services as a matter of social/community requirement flesh trade has been here for centuries in various forms. In India it has also been an oppressive means to force and coerce women from the lowest caste to remain in a submissive state.  

But today for those fighting for ‘sex workers’ rights it is their firm belief that it is a matter of woman’s ‘self-determination’ to decide what she wants to do with her body. 

How I wish it was as simple and straight forward as people make it sound. 

Before we go any further, let’s understand the Indian law.

Is sale of sexual services illegal in our country. ‘No’ so long as it is between two consenting adults in a private space. 

But the moment the selling or buying comes into a public space it become illegal. So, soliciting is illegal, maintaining a brothel is illegal, living on the earnings is illegal and even detaining a person in a brothel is illegal.

Prostitution as we see it today is about pimps, brothel keepers and whole lot of other stakeholders who live on the earnings of a woman who is selling her body. 

Are these the persons who have to be registered? Because all of them are part of this outfit called ‘sex work’.

The thousands of women I have met who were removed from brothels, kept repeating multiple times during the time of removal/rescue that they were ‘here by their voluntary choice’. The same women when removed from that influence and relocated to a safer place spoke at length of a journey of constrained choices, deception and exploitation. A significant number of them were children when they were inducted into the trade. All this and more pointing out to trafficking in persons. This apart when you study the socio-economic profile of these persons, a huge majority are Dalits or tribal. Communities who have been socially oppressed for centuries and are forced, coerced or deceived to choose this option. So, by using fancy names does the oppressive systems become now liberating.  

The question then is how will the registration as ‘workers’ rule out that a victim of organized crime ie. Trafficking is not shown as a person who has voluntarily chosen this trade. 

Prostitution is a term which our law defines and so I will use that with confidence. The Immoral Traffic Persons Prevention Act defines ‘prostitution’ as sexual exploitation of a person for commercial gains. And that is the world of exploitation that I have witnessed across the country from red light areas of Budhwarpet (Pune), GB Road(Delhi), Kamatipura(Mumbai, Sonagachi (Kolkatta) to houses, apartments, resorts, hotels, spas, beauty parlors across the country. 

No police officer raids a place where two consenting adults have ‘paid sex’. It is mostly through a ‘pimp’/broker’ that a contact is made and thereafter the commercial transaction with multiple third parties such as organizers, brothel keepers and agents established, which is followed by a raid/rescue. 

So, when we say registration, are we saying ‘register’ these layers of exploitation and provide it legitimacy.

 

So, what does the Civil Society want? 

First of all, civil society is not a homogenous body. The larger civil society has three schools of thoughts one who believe this is a ‘necessary evil’ and should continue as it provides safety for their daughters, the second who believe that ‘sex work’ is a liberated term and provides safe framework for operations and a third group who believe that this should end.   

In terms of those who are working directly for this cause from multitude & diverse position I would say again there are largely three groups. 

The first group who works for the rights of ‘sex workers’ and believe that dignity and liberty is within ‘sex work’ and it should be considered as a ‘voluntary choice’ and represents ‘self- determination’ of those persons. Organizations such as SANGRAM(Sangli), Saheli (Pune), National Network of Sex Workers, Lawyers Collective come under this category.

There is a second group who also believe in ‘sex workers’ rights but have intwined themselves in the anti-trafficking brigade and prefer to be identified as anti-trafficking organizations and believe ‘sex workers’ should have rights at the same time the institutional elements such as brothel keepers, pimps and brokers should be eliminated. Organizations such as Sanjog(Kolkatta), HELP(Ongole) fall into this category.

And there is a third group with organizations like Prajwala (which I have founded), Shakti Vahini, Arz(Anyay Rahit Zindagi) and some others who are not only part of the anti-trafficking brigade but also believe that a person’s dignity and liberty is outside ‘sex work’ as this trade is intrinsically exploitative and is essentially a human rights violation and therefore work towards ‘sustainable exit options’.

What is common for all the groups? We all believe unanimously that relief and support must be provided.

While the pro ‘sex workers’ believe that it has to be done by maintaining and legitimizing ‘sex work’, those of us who belief that ‘sex work per say is fundamentally flawed and has only sustained oppressive systems believe all relief should be given paving way for rehabilitation. 

The position held by us, is the same position taken up both by the Government and the Hon’ble Supreme Court. 

In an important case in the Apex Court, Budhadev Karmasakar Vs State of West Bengal, Justice Gyan Sudha Mishra clarified and I quote :

“1. While concurring with the views of my learned brother Justice Altamas Kabir, I prefer to add in regard to the second issue that this Court should not be misunderstood to encourage the practice of flesh trade or advocate the recognition of sex trade merely because it has raised the issue to emphasize the rehabilitation aspect of the sex workers, for which this Court had taken the initiative right at the threshold. I consider this essential in order to allay any apprehension which prompted the Union of India to move this application for modification, by highlighting that the sex workers although have a right to live with dignity as the society is aware that they are forced to continue with this trade under compulsions since they have no alternative source of livelihood, collective endeavor should be there on the part of the Court and all concerned who have joined this cause as also the sex workers themselves to give up this heinous profession of flesh trade by providing the destitute and physically abused women an alternative forum for employment and resettlement in order to be able to rehabilitate themselves. I, therefore, wish to reiterate by way of abundant caution that this Court should not be perceived to advocate the recognition of sex trade or promote the cause of prostitution in any form and manner even when it had stated earlier in its terms of reference regarding conditions conducive for sex workers who wish to continue working as sex workers with dignity.

2. Thus, when we modify the earlier term of reference and state regarding conditions conducive for sex workers to live with dignity in accordance with the provisions of Article 21 of the Constitution, the same may not be interpreted or construed so as to create an impression or draw inference that this Court in any way is encouraging the sex workers to continue with their profession of flesh trade by providing facilities to them when it is merely making an effort to advocate the cause of offering an alternative source of employment to those sex workers who are keen for rehabilitation. When we say conditions conducive for sex workers to live with dignity, we unambiguously wish to convey that while the sex workers may be provided alternative source of employment for their rehabilitation to live life with dignity, it will have to be understood in the right perspective as we cannot direct the Union of India or the State Authorities to provide facilities to those sex workers who wish to promote their profession of sex trade for earning their livelihood, except of course the basic amenities for a dignified life, as this was certainly not the intention of this Court even when the term of reference was framed earlier. 

3. We, therefore, wish to be understood that we confine ourselves to the efforts for rehabilitation of sex workers which should not be construed as facilitating, providing them assistance or creating conducive conditions to carry on flesh trade for expanding their business in any manner as it cannot be denied that the profession of sex trade is a slur on the dignity of women. Conditions conducive for sex workers to live with dignity in accordance with the provisions of Article 21 of the Constitution be therefore understood in its correct perspective as indicated above. “

 

 So why has NHRC given such an advisory which is even violative of the Hon’ble Apex Court’s position?  

 

What should NHRC do?

I believe it should modify the contentious advisory without compromising on providing all relief and support to all marginalized women. 

With respect to women in prostitution, the advisory should direct the Government specifically through the Ministry of Health & National AIDS Control Organization(NACO) to reach out to all the persons in prostitution whom they are already directly in contact through their Targeted Interventions Programs to provide sustenance support till the end of Covid  pandemic and through Ministry of Women & Child Welfare, Ministry of Labor & Employment and Ministry for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship to provide support for alternate livelihood, livelihood training and micro-credit support. As NACO is in direct contact with these vulnerable groups they could facilitate through a special cell all of them receive civic identities such as Aadhar Card and Voter Card on a priority basis to access the Government schemes.

I believe the Government should take this up as this is the need of hour. For all of us who  are witness to the plight of the most the vulnerable this group stands out. Each one of us have in our own capacities reached out with support but at the end of the day it is only the Government which has the capacity to provide sustained support. Our committed support stands with the system to ensure that the last beneficiary is identified and supported.

We are standing today at an important point of history where we have to collectively take a decision whether we want to legitimize centuries old oppressive system (u may call it any fancy name) or bring in a new world of equality, liberty and dignity by building bridges for the oppressed to exit and access support.               

OUR SELECTIVE SHRIEKS!

 

For the last one week the case of a child who was allegedly raped multiple times by a donor in an orphanage located in Hyderabad has bothered me and I have extensively used the social media platforms to express my pain and anger. 

 

This morning the child died.

And I am wondering whether she is in a better place now?

 

I am constantly disturbed by the apathy the community at large has about the rights of children. Somehow, they are not a priority. Most think that in any case in a few years they will become adults so why bother. Life just does not matter!

 

And that is why perhaps it absolutely does not make any big headlines that India is producing the highest content of child sexually abusive material in the world. This is as per the report of NICMEC a validated American organization that is involved in monitoring and reporting the online child sexually abusive material. Close to 2 million contents were reported from India which is over 11% of the total reports from all over the world. 

 

Why is this not bothering us? Why are we not shaken to know that thousands of our children are being sexually exploited and raped? 

 

While the suicide of an actor, daily investigation of smuggling case, political horse-trading and so many other ‘very important’ issues including making or breaking of religious structures  get supreme importance in both electronic and print media…and the journalists are scrambling to report it day in and day out… 9pm channels are filled with heated debates….a child dying of a systemic failure, a child being raped by those who pledged to protect her…a child being rejected by her family and the system just does not bother us!

 

Ohhh…I am sorry we do react…and we react strongly…. using our social media platforms…. press meets…candle lights…. protest marches….in selective cases that makes some sense to our needs.

 

So what are the cases that makes sense to us….we love brutality….so any brutal case will be a great priority, we are scared if it happens in our neighborhood or to somebody who belong to our own social strata or somebody we can economically relate to…so anybody belonging to our social strata we will start screaming our protests….we love political position so anything that relates to our vote bank is something we will definitely jump around. 

 

Interestingly there are political leaders in Hyderabad who will raise their voice to the highest pitch when a child is being raped in Jammu/Kashmir but they maintain perfect silence when a child is being raped just next door in Hyderabad.

  

Our state and system are also equally selective. Any case that gathers huge media momentum and political mileage, that case definitely will be fast tracked and not just compensation but all kind of financial support will be offered.

I am not saying that those cases don’t deserve that support, what I am saying is that every child/girl/woman who is sexually assaulted should also get equal access to all that support. 

 

After years of working on the issue of sex crime against children and providing a safe haven for hundreds of such children who face threat perception from their perpetrators, what I see is over 70% of cases are pending for last 4 years. Hardly 30% of the children have received small amounts of interim relief fund from the District Administration. And that too only when we have constituted a team whose only job is to follow up and ensure papers move. Not a single child got relief as a matter of right.   

 

I am angry about what is becoming of us….I am angry that we collectively fail as humanity….I am angry that we as a society feel helpless about our own inadequacies…I am  angry that the State response most often is only reactionary and does not put in place systemic processes that ensures equal access to justice for all…I am angry that we tolerate all this….I am angry that this incident will bother some of us but in a few seconds life will move with no remnants in our memory till the next incident happens…

 

I want to break our hypocrisy…I want to break our pseudo stands…I want to break the power mongers whose political position is the only real thing for them….and a child’s life matters only when it suits them.

 

I know I am raving and ranting. 

But all I want to reiterate- your inaction, your silence, your apathy, your self-centeredness and your indifference is not going to break my spirit. 

I will continue to fight, continue to flag these issues even if it makes me unpopular, continue to support those violated with a safe space and continue to be the voice of the voiceless…And you can rest assured that there will be many more like me here & elsewhere who will be bearing this torch now and for years to come…till every human being is respected with dignity and systems become really functional for all.

 

        

       

   

WHO IS ACCOUNTABLE FOR A CHILD'S LIFE?

Currently in between a case of a 14 year old orphan girl who was allegedly sexually assaulted repeatedly by a donor of an orphanage while the founder of the orphanage and her brother are abettors in the crime. As per the child's version the lady managing the orphanage had send her to this man(in the same building where the orphange is located) who drugged her and sexually assaulted her. This seems to have happened multiple times.  

The information came out when the child was sent back to her relatives during the Covid lockdown (as per Govt orders all Child Care Institutions were directed to send back children to any safe relative) on March 21st, 2020.

For 4 months she lived with her uncle whom she apparently had informed about the abuse. For reasons best known to the child & the family, the child was physically beaten up continuously by her uncles during the stay. Reliable information also points out that the uncle tried to leave the girl back to the same orphanage at least on three occasion but the home refused to take back the child citing Covid.

 

After four months the uncle decided to send the child to another aunt on July 28th, 2020. Seeing the physical condition of the child (she could hardly walk) the aunt was concerned and when she probed, the child once again described her plight.Alarmed by the information, the aunt rushed to the police and booked a case against the perpetrators on 29th July, 2020. 

While the police  did take the case promptly and the sexual assault was booked and the arrests were made but interestingly the abuse that had happened during the 4 months with the uncles was completely ignored.

Interacting with the legally competent bodies who dealt with the case,I have come to understand that the girl could hardly walk when she was taken to the police station or to other places. She was visibly sick, appeared severely malnourished and had deep fresh bruises all over her body mainly on her thighs.

The aunt deposed before Child Welfare Committee that she is unable to take responsibility so  finally the child was admitted in the Government Home. The officials in the home, seeing the dire health conditions of the child admitted her to the Government Nilofer Hospital for children after completing all the legal formalities including 

recording her statement and medical examination. 

Simultaneously another case was booked against the uncles on the intervention of CWC.

The child's condition after she was admitted in the hospital worsened inspite of all the care & attention. Multiple complications including a clot in the brain, septicimia,urinary infection etc. 

  

Right now the girl is battling for life with less than 1% chances of recovery, she is on ventilator support and her condition is critical. 

I am shattered...how have we so miserably failed our children? For many of us this will be another story...to feel sad...maybe get outraged...rave & rant about what is going wrong and move on....

But a life is on its way out...just 14years old....in that brief period she has experienced rejection, indignity, violation and betrayal...rape & physical abuse...you name it...she has experienced it.   

I am flooded and challenged with multiple questions...

-Who is accountable for this child's life?

-Should safe homes/orphanages/child care institution allow donors/visitors to have direct contact with the child?

-What are the non-intrusive means to monitor and track all safe homes/institutions?

-Should the licensing authorities also be taken to task for issuing registration/licensing for organisations who have questionable protocols?

-What is the fate of children whose family & institution are unsafe?

-How can we ensure that our children get at the minimum a safe place to live?

As I wait for the final updates of the child...a deep vacuum engulfs me....

 

FUTILITY OF US GOVERNMENT'S TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS’ REPORT

As a focused and determined anti trafficking advocate, I have been a staunch admirer of the Government of United States for many years for the simple reason that this country has been a global leader and has rightly invested in its commitment to fight the global menace of human trafficking.  Individuals like me were recognized by the US Government as TIP Heroes way back in 2009 giving us the much-needed back-up and moral strength to continue our mission. 

The Trafficking Victim Protection Act (TVPA), 2000 is perhaps one of the earliest comprehensive legislation to address trafficking in persons with a three-pronged approach of prevention, protection and prosecution.  Over the years several praiseworthy measures were taken by US both domestically and internationally including engaging with survivor advocates. 

Having said this, I also have been a consistent critic of the utility and relevance of the Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report that the US Government releases every year end June. This report is something like a Global ‘Report Card’ for over 187 countries on their efforts to end human trafficking. Based on certain indicators countries are placed in different Tiers. The countries placed in the lowest tier, Tier III face imposed with certain non-humanitarian and non-trade related sanctions by the United States Government. 

The intentions are noble, making Governments accountable to act and take proactive efforts to end human trafficking. But does it really have the same impact in all countries? 

I seriously doubt! Here are my reasons.

Firstly, no economically stable country including USA will like to have another country playing ‘headmaster’ to them. Some poorer countries have no voice whatsoever due to their economic conditions.

Secondly, now coming to the quality of the content.  By its own admission the report is prepared from information received from US Embassies, government officials, non-governmental and international organizations, published reports, news articles, academic studies and research trips to every region of the world. It is certainly not being impugned that the contents are false, but what I would definitely point out is that there are far too many ‘hearsay’ in the Report, without any substantial empirical evidence being quoted therein. 

For example, let us take the India report 2020.  It states that as per NGO estimates there are 8 million bonded labor in India. Is there a substantiated document that can validate how this figure was arrived? Not that I agree to the Government figures and all of us definitely know the numbers are always higher than what is quoted officially; but to give it a numerical value one definitely needs to have more evidence. Similarly, several anecdotal incidences are broadly generalized to reflect the country’s situation. For a large country like India which is more like a sub-continent in itself, this approach is grossly unjust. The reports for all the countries have a generous dose of inputs from well-intentioned NGOs, who perhaps genuinely want to change the situation. However, if the concerned Government does not even give the report a basic weightage largely due to its unsubstantiated claims -  Where do you expect the change to happen - in USA??? 

Thirdly, every sovereign, democratic country has their own domestic laws which defines how they will treat their adult or child victims. It is grossly unfair for one country to judge another country by their domestic standards and value systems.  

Fourthly the US Government decided to include United States with 186 countries almost 10 years after it first brought the TIP Report. Fair to say, this might be because of the large-scale vocal criticism from many including people like me who questioned whether US has the moral authority to comment about other countries when they have not done an evaluation of TIP about their own country!

But finally seeing the US country report - it was like, ‘you prepare the question paper, you give your own scores, and irrespective of the scores given, you place yourself on top of the class!!!’ Well US Government very happily places itself on Tier I! 

I can modestly say a few hundred anti-trafficking advocates working in US will have serious reservations regarding this assessment!   

Yesterday after I read the TIP Report I had tweeted and expressed my reservations. A friend asked me ‘how can you write like this, you work so closely with them’. All that I wanted to say in response was ‘this is how any Government might feel about the NGOs who work closely with them and also contribute information to US-TIP Report. 

Anti-trafficking work is done in collaboration and in partnership with civil society stakeholders. None of the stakeholders cannot work in silos. Imagine what one stakeholder will feel about the other if they have to deal with the fact that the other is reporting to some foreign country, of course, with the virtuous intention of correcting the former. 

Personally, I will feel very uncomfortable and would be wary of such partnership!

While the intentions are noble, definitely the impact is absolutely undesirable. If a report ends creating hostile environment for proactive work to happen then such reports are more a headache than a weapon one can use for advocacy. 

If one has to consider some impactful reports that has positively contributed to proactive action by the Governments of several countries including India, I would say the United Nations Office for Drugs & Crime (UNODC) Global Report on Trafficking in Persons has been a powerful report. The strength of the report comes from its neutral status, the way the contents are structured and the quality and authenticity of the information. While it does report about all countries, there are no sanctions imposed, no gradings done, the concerned stakeholder gets a clearer picture of the trends in their country, the gaps in intervention and possible solutions. Due to its unique position, UNODC is able to engage with the Government and influence them to look at the report proactively and thereafter also becomes a part of the solution. There is a sense of partnership at every level. Many civil society organizations will comfortably raise issues on the UNODC platform with 100% confidence that the concerns stated will reach the right authority and will be taken in the correct perspective. 

While I applaud the efforts of the US Government for their commitment and actions to end this modern slavery consistently for the last 20 years…but I do think after two decades it is a good time to reflect and evaluate whether this approach of bringing a Global TIP Report is having the desired impact.

Change will come when each country will have the courage to look inwards at themselves and recognize the magnitude and extent of the problem within their territories….change will come when each country will constitute independent bodies to bring out their own TIP Reports…change will come when each country will value all its citizens as precious human beings who should not come to any harm…change will come when the inner awakening compels you to pledge zero tolerance to any form of slavery or exploitation.