NGOs opposed to making prostitution legal
While opposing the suggestion of the Supreme Court to legalise prostitution, some Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) have told the apex court that if the government resorted to that step, crimes against women and children would increase rather than diminish.
“No single country across the world where prostitution is legalised have reported even a marginal decrease in crime against women or children,’’ said the application filed by four NGOs –– Prajwala, Guria, Sanlaap and Saarthak last week.
As per a study, more than 50 per cent of women in the trade had reported that they did not think legal prostitution made them any safer from rape and physical assault, the application said.
Citing examples, the NGOs said: “After prostitution was legalised in Netherlands, it is estimated that between 1996 and 2001, the number of children who are engaged in prostitution increased by over 300 per cent, going from 4000 to 15,000 and 5000 of these children were trafficked from other countries.’’
The NGOs said that the government was a signatory to the international covenant to curb illegal trafficking of woman for commercial sex and it would be illegal to legalise prostitution in the country.
On December 10, the apex court had asked the Centre whether it could legalise prostitution if it wasn’t possible to curb it.
“When you say it is the world’s oldest profession and when you are not able to curb it by laws, why don’t you legalise it? You can then monitor the trade, rehabilitate and provide medical aid to those involved,”Justices Dalveer Bhandari and A K Patnaik had told Solicitor General Gopal Subramaniam.
