Need to give better work conditions to sex workers: NCW chief

Reiterating her stand on legalising prostitution, National Commission for Women (NCW) chairperson Lalitha Kumaramangalam today pitched for effective mechanism to deal with criminal aspects of sex trade like trafficking.
Observing that the sex workers must be given the right to decide what they want to do with their lives, she said there was a need to provide better working conditions to them.
She, however, said NCW has not given any recommendation to the Centre for decriminalising sex trade yet.
"The recommendations given previously were only on a particular section of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act. It has nothing to do with a specific policy saying we are going to legalise sex work," she said on being asked about the issue.

Referring to her earlier comments on legalising prostitution, she said, "I was talking from the perspective of providing more security to women who are in sex trade and their children in terms of education, access to health which is very necessary for any form of empowerment for any woman in any trade."
On being asked whether such recognition would lead to legalisation of sex trade, she said, "If you need rules and regulations for any form of work then ultimately it comes down to legalisation."

Kumaramangalam was talking to reporters on the sidelines of a workshop.
Asked whether legalising prostitution would lead to greater exploitation of women, she said, "Exploitation is going on anyway. It is not going to stop whether we legalise it or not. The problem of sex work has been around for a millennium."

"The thing that we are trying to look at is seeing how we improve the conditions around sex work. That is not just improving it for women but also for clients," she said.
The workshop was organised to discuss issues pertaining to gender equality ahead of the UN Women Beijing+20 Global Review Meeting in New York in March.
The NCW has been talking to various stakeholders ahead of the meeting including acid attack victims, differently-abled women, sex workers, and victims of trafficking among others.
The final output in form of a comprehensive report on the status of gender equality in India will be discussed at the UN meet.