Social Legal Dimensions of Trafficking and Prostitution

 

The work of a Prostitute: the act of having sex in exchange for money. Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual relations or sex acts in exchange for pay mentor some other benefit. Prostitution is sometimes described as commercial sex or hooking. Ancient India gives the highlight of Sacred Prostitution or Religious Prostitution, a sexual intercourse or other sexual activity performed in the context of religious worship (Devadasi) and where payment for services was not involved. In India, the Vedas, the earliest literature had references to Prostitution. Rigveda mentions the word sadbarani, which refers to a woman who offers sex for payment. Extract from Arthasastra ,as stated by Kautilya “Women who lived by their beauty (rupajivas) could, however, entertain men as independent practitioners”, gives account of Prostitution.

The word Prostitute is derived from the Latin word PROSTITUTA. The verb is a composition of "Pro" which means "up front" or "forward" and "Situere", means "to offer up for sale".

According to the definition of United Nations: “trafficking is any activity leading to recruitment, transportation, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of threat or use of force or a position of vulnerability” In simple terms it could be understood as the brutal trade of human beings for a

Tracing back to the stories of various victims rescued, we find the common denominator to be poverty. The predators make maximum leverage out of the scenario to lure people into trafficking. Many times they are promised a better life but blinded by the harsh reality and left to be abused.

History of Trafficking

Human trafficking is not a novel phenomenon that outburst in the near past but is as old as human civilisation. Slaves were considered as property which the master can use according to their will. he earliest form of trafficking can be traced back to Africa where the indigenous people were sold in the markets to the ‘white masters’. The slaves were to satisfy the sexual needs of the master as well as perform bonded labour with little or no income.

Around 1900, we see that women from Europe were trafficked to Middle Eastern and Arab countries as prostitutes or concubines.

History of Prostitution

Prostitution has been described as "the world's oldest profession" although the oldest professions are most likely farmers, hunters, and shepherds.

 Sumerian records dating back to ca. 2400 BCE are the earliest recorded mention of prostitution as an occupation.

Prostitution was commonplace in ancient Israel. There are a number of references to prostitution in the Hebrew Bible

In ancient Greece, both women and men engaged in prostitution. The Greek word for prostitute is porne. Female prostitutes could be independent and sometimes influential women. They were required to wear distinctive dresses and had to pay taxes.

Prostitution in ancient Rome was legal, public, and widespread. Even Roman men of the highest social status were free to engage prostitutes of either sex without incurring moral disapproval, as long as they demonstrated self-control and moderation in the frequency and enjoyment of sex.

There were some similarities between the Ancient Roman and Greek system, but as the Empire grew, prostitutes were often foreign slaves, captured, purchased or raised for the purpose of prostitution. This was sometimes done by large-scale "prostitute farmers" where abandoned children were raised, and almost always raised to become prostitutes. Enslavement into prostitution was sometimes used as a legal punishment against criminal-free women. Buyers were allowed to inspect naked men and women for sale in private and there was no stigma attached to the purchase of males by a male aristocrat.

A tawaif was a courtesan who catered to the nobility of South Asia, particularly during the era of the Mughal Empire. These courtesans would dance, sing, recite poetry and entertain their suitors at mehfils. Like the geisha tradition in Japan, their main purpose was to professionally entertain their guests. While sex was often incidental, it was not assured contractually. The most popular or highest-class tawaifs could often pick and choose between the best of their suitors. They contributed to music, dance, theatre, film, and the Urdu literary tradition.

The term devadasi originally described a Hindu religious practice in which girls were married and dedicated to a deity (deva or devi). They were in charge of taking care of the temple, performing rituals they learned, and practicing Bharatanatyam and other classical Indian art traditions. This status allowed them to enjoy high social status. The popularity of devadasis seems to have reached its pinnacle around the 10th and 11th centuries. The rise and fall in the status of devadasis can be seen to be running parallel to the rise and fall of Hindu temples. Due to the destruction of temples by Islamic invaders, the status of the temples fell very quickly in North India and slowly in South India. As the temples became poorer and lost their patron kings, and in some cases were destroyed, the devadasis were forced into a life of poverty and prostitution.

During the British East India Company's rule in India in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, it was initially fairly common for British soldiers to engage in inter-ethnic prostitution in India, where they would frequently visit local Indian nautch dancers. As British females began arriving in British India in large numbers from the early to mid-19th century, it became increasingly uncommon for British soldiers to visit Indian prostitutes, and miscegenation was despised altogether after the events of the Indian Rebellion of 1857.

In the seventh century, the prophet Muhammad declared that prostitution is forbidden. In Islam, prostitution is considered a sin.

According to Shia Muslims, the prophet Muhammad sanctioned fixed-term marriage, called muta'a in Iraq and sigheh in Iran, which according to some Western writers, has allegedly been used as a legitimizing cover for sex workers, in a culture where prostitution is otherwise forbidden

Impact

Prostitution had both Physical as well as Mental impact on women. Women‟s who are indulged in this activities have to suffer a lot. Some of them where forcefully pushed into this profession. As per the health consequences, women from prostitution have to suffer injuries as well as infection. The physical health consequences include: injury (bruises, broken bones, black eyes, concussions) A 1994 study had found, from 68 women who had been prostituted for at least six months, that 1/2 the women had been physically assaulted by their purchasers, and 1/3 of these experienced purchaser assaults at least several times a year. 23% of those assaulted were beaten into a coma. 90% of the women experienced violence in their personal relationships resulting in miscarriage, stabbing, loss of consciousness, and head injuries. The sex of prostitution is physically harmful to women in prostitution. STDs (including HIV/AIDS, Chlamydia, gonorrhoea, herpes, human papilloma virus, and syphilis) are found highly among women in Prostitution. It was seen rarely that women do not come in the contact of STD‟s, not including AIDS. Generally they suffered from gynaecological problems, chronic pelvic pain and pelvic inflammatory disease in Prostitution. The emotional health include severe trauma, stress, depression, anxiety, self-medication through alcohol and drug abuse, and eating disorders. Crack cocaine and alcohol were used most frequently. Women in prostitution are also at special risk for self-mutilation, suicide, and homicide.

Causes

Monetary Causes

The monetary reason is one of the causes that different ladies in India step in the demonstration of turning into a whore. There are different whores who acknowledge cash for administrations as they hail from impoverished families. It is featured that "in India, there are numerous whores who are constrained to embrace prostitution to take care of themselves and their wards." The financial elements for the acknowledgement of prostitution can include destitution, under matured business, unfortunate working conditions, the contamination and defilement in mechanical focuses, and corrupt traffic in ladies and youngsters.

Ladies are selected on misrepresentations, pressured, moved, purchased and sold for a scope of exploitative purposes. Some are tricked about the idea of the work they will do; some are educated misleading statements regarding the work and are then compelled to do it. A few casualties know about the idea of the work, however, are ignorant about the conditions in which they will direct it.

There are a few classifications of dealing. The first and biggest area is the transnational sex industry and global prostitution. There is additionally the international wife industry. The other primary class is sending out a specialist power in return for unfamiliar capital. On account of ladies, these are normally home-grown labourers or medical attendants. All the ladies perform administrations that are needed to be executed towards the host nations.

 

Social Causes

The socio-social reasons for prostitution and illegal exploitation have been classified by the Focal Social Government assistance Board into different viewpoints, for example, Abuse by guardians, social traditions like Devdasi Framework, renunciation by mate, family custom or association of relatives in prostitution, widowhood and limitations on widow remarriage, social or individual reasons, for example, the low situation of ladies in the public eye or failure to orchestrate marriage or infringement by interbreeding.[vi] Extra categorisation may likewise incorporate the terrible organization and more regrettable area, conspiracy of guardians and spouse, absence of sex instruction and impact of media and nonappearance of recreational offices.

The NCW additionally expresses that crude social mentalities win towards 'single' ladies and 'isolated' ladies, young lady youngsters, young ladies and Dalit ladies. It notices: "Prostitution is a social item made through different surges of political, social and social request. For example, one of the fundamental drivers for increment popular for little youngsters is the legend that intercourse with a virgin can fix a man off explicitly communicated infections and restore him. Such confusions have prompted the development of kid prostitution. The kids are being sold at more youthful and more youthful ages. This is fuelled both by the adventure of kid sex and the dread of Helps. This dovetails into the conviction that the more youthful the kid, the more probable the individual will be a virgin and accordingly won't be tainted with Helps. Hence young ladies and young men as youthful as eight years are being looked for and given all through the world to their sexual administrations."

Psychological Issues

Apart from economic and socio-cultural factors, observers have also identified psychological factors as contributing to the sustenance of this institution. Even without compulsion, some women join this course of life. The CSWB states that desire for physical pleasure and luxurious life, increasing craze for money, dejection and love of fun are some of the reasons for women to join this institution voluntarily.

It also identifies kidnapping and abduction, delay in rendering services, urbanisation and resulting migration, ignorance and illiteracy as other legal and administrative causes for the growth of this institution. This is a pointer towards the failure of the State to provide legal redress. The prostitutes are more prone to bad psychological health as compared to any other field.

Legal Dimensions

The trafficking in human beings has been prohibited under article 23 of the constitution of India. In Jolly George Varghese v. Bank of Cochin, it was highlighted that “India has a dualist code for implementing ratified treaties in the country whereby the Treaties and Conventions doesn’t get the force of law in courts automatically by ratification and the legislature has to enact particular laws to bring it in force”

Despite the absolute prohibition of human trafficking provided by the Constitution of India, various laws have been implemented in India for the protection of a person from the acts of prostitution and human trafficking. These laws can be mentioned as follows:

 

Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2013 has come into power wherein Area 370 of the Indian Corrective Code has been subbed with Segment 370 and 370A IPC which accommodate far-reaching measures to counter the danger of illegal exploitation including dealing of youngsters for abuse in any structure including actual misuse or any type of sexual abuse, bondage, subjugation, or the constrained evacuation of organs.

Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, which has happened from fourteenth November 2012 is a unique law to shield kids from sexual maltreatment and misuse. It gives exact definitions to various types of sexual maltreatment, including penetrative and non-penetrative rape, inappropriate behaviour.

The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989

Numerous survivors of dealing have a place with underestimated gatherings. Dealers target just such a zone which is in reverse in social and proficiency sense. This gives an extra apparatus to protect ladies and little youngsters having a place with booked Standing and planned Clans and to make a more noteworthy weight on the dealer or guilty party to demonstrate his absence of intrigue in the issue. If the wrongdoer has the information that casualty has a place with these networks, at that point this demonstration can be successfully used to counter the offence of dealing. Section 3 of this demonstration manages barbarities submitted against individuals having a place with Booked Rank and Planned Clans.

Immoral Traffic Prevention Act of 1986

The public authority of India sanctioned the Worldwide Show for the Concealment of Indecent Traffic in people and the abuse of the Prostitution of Others in 1950. As a

Worldwide Diary of Unadulterated and Applied Science Uncommon Issue outcome of this confirmation of the show the Public authority of India passed the Concealment of Shameless Traffic in Ladies and Young ladies Act (SITA) in the year 1956. In 1986, the demonstration was additionally altered and changed which was known as the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act, 1986 (PITA).

This is an intriguing law because as indicated by its prelude the reason for this Demonstration is to offer an impact to the Dealing Show and to restrict the indecent illegal exploitation. This demonstration manages to deal and it has its goal as to nullify traffic in ladies and young ladies with the end goal of sexual abuse.

 

There are other explicit enactments authorized identifying with dealing with trafficking in women and children Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976, Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1994, apart from specific Sections in the IPC, e.g. Sections 372 and 373 dealing with selling and purchasing of young ladies with the end goal of prostitution. State Governments have additionally sanctioned explicit enactments to manage the issue. (e.g. The Punjab Prevention of Human Smuggling Act, 2012) [viii]

Measures Taken by government

 

Anti Trafficking Cell (ATC): Anti-Trafficking Nodal Cell was set up in the Service of Home Undertakings (MHA) (CS Division in 2006 to go about as a point of convergence for conveying different choices and follow up on activity taken by the State Governments to battle the wrongdoing of Illegal exploitation. MHA conducts coordination gatherings with the Nodal Officials of Hostile to Illegal exploitation Units assigned in all States/UTs occasionally.

Ministry of Home Affairs' scheme: Ministry of Home Affairs under a far-reaching Plan for reinforcing law requirement reaction in India against Dealing with People through Preparing and Limit Building, has delivered store for the foundation of Hostile to Illegal exploitation Units for 270 locales of the nation.

 

Judicial Colloquium: to prepare and sharpen the preliminary court legal officials, Legal Colloquium on illegal exploitation is held at the High court level. The point is to sharpen the legal officials about the different issues concerning illegal exploitation and to guarantee rapid court measure. Up until this point, eleven Legal Colloquiums have been held at Chandigarh, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Odisha.