Thursday
Sep152011
India's Supreme Court orders vocational training for sex workers
Thursday, September 15, 2011 at 5:48PM
India was recently ranked fourth of the most dangerous nation in the world to be a woman, one reason being its prolific sex industry which has grown by a factor of 17 in the last 15 years.
There must be a better wayThis summer, India's Supreme Court ordered the government to identify sex workers for vocational training in four major metropolitan areas. "It is only if a sex worker is able to earn a livelihood through technical skills rather than by selling her body that she can live with dignity, and that is why we have requested all the states and the Union of India to submit schemes for giving technical training to these sex workers," it said.
Our director of field operations, Glenn Fawcett, gives us his take on the development from New Delhi:
"When I became aware of the Supreme Court ruling it reminded me of the situation in Cambodia, where government efforts against trafficking have been of questionable value. Too often, they focused on rounding up and confining poor and low tariff sex workers, many of which report being raped and robbed in the process of their "rehabilitation." There are distinct differences, however, and I feel certain this could offer an opportunity to open up the brothels of India. If so, this would increase opportunities to intervene while reducing the numbers of newly occurring trafficking cases. Enhanced monitoring would allow for extensive data collection on the women’s demographics, educational background, and capacities with respect to livelihood training.
In Cambodia, we have a highly effective Non-Formal Education and skills training program for sex workers and vulnerable girls which has shown us that poverty and lack of education is almost always why this population ends up exploited. We do not miss the opportunity to analyze where these women and girls come from, and plan to improve educational and employment opportunities. Moreover, we work to reduce the dangers of being trafficked in the villages, where the problem begins.
Getting this right in India is a tremendously exciting prospect, as much as losing the opportunity is a cause for grief. The extent to which civil society and its professional development players are empowered to participate in the planning and implementation of these programs will decide its efficacy. Leave it to government and it will be an opportunity to loot. NGOs should be invited to apply for funding to implement related programs vis a vis a transparent process to an independent panel set up by the courts. This will go a long way to ensuring good outcomes that get to the root of problems."
There must be a better wayThis summer, India's Supreme Court ordered the government to identify sex workers for vocational training in four major metropolitan areas. "It is only if a sex worker is able to earn a livelihood through technical skills rather than by selling her body that she can live with dignity, and that is why we have requested all the states and the Union of India to submit schemes for giving technical training to these sex workers," it said.Our director of field operations, Glenn Fawcett, gives us his take on the development from New Delhi:
"When I became aware of the Supreme Court ruling it reminded me of the situation in Cambodia, where government efforts against trafficking have been of questionable value. Too often, they focused on rounding up and confining poor and low tariff sex workers, many of which report being raped and robbed in the process of their "rehabilitation." There are distinct differences, however, and I feel certain this could offer an opportunity to open up the brothels of India. If so, this would increase opportunities to intervene while reducing the numbers of newly occurring trafficking cases. Enhanced monitoring would allow for extensive data collection on the women’s demographics, educational background, and capacities with respect to livelihood training.
In Cambodia, we have a highly effective Non-Formal Education and skills training program for sex workers and vulnerable girls which has shown us that poverty and lack of education is almost always why this population ends up exploited. We do not miss the opportunity to analyze where these women and girls come from, and plan to improve educational and employment opportunities. Moreover, we work to reduce the dangers of being trafficked in the villages, where the problem begins.
Getting this right in India is a tremendously exciting prospect, as much as losing the opportunity is a cause for grief. The extent to which civil society and its professional development players are empowered to participate in the planning and implementation of these programs will decide its efficacy. Leave it to government and it will be an opportunity to loot. NGOs should be invited to apply for funding to implement related programs vis a vis a transparent process to an independent panel set up by the courts. This will go a long way to ensuring good outcomes that get to the root of problems."
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