A delegation of members of women's groups in India met NCW chairperson Lalitha Kumaramangalam and submitted a memorandum urging it to go in for a national-level consultation with all sections on the matter.
Kumaramangalam had advocated legalising sex work in order to regulate the trade and ensure better conditions for sex workers while bringing down trafficking and lowering the incidence of HIV among them.
However, women's right activists said that providing licences and making sex trade legal cannot possibly stop trafficking; rather, it may give impetus to the trade. They claimed that in many ways, the scope for exploitation actually gets enhanced, rather than reduced, if sex trade is legalised.
"Special steps must be taken to ensure that their basic human rights are safeguarded and better livelihood options for women should be provided as a means of preventing their entry into prostitution," said Sudha Sundararaman of the All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA).
"Media reports mention that you would be submitting your recommendations in this regard to a high-level Cabinet committee.
"However, while your suggestion may stem from legitimate concern for the exploitation that women in prostitution are often subjected to, we who have been working amongst the mass of women for many decades would like to impress upon you that the solution put forth would only add to their woes and lead to their increased exploitation," a release quoted Annie Raja of National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW) as having said.