Hope and Dignity in Sonagachi
Published by Yazad Jal November 6th, 2004 in Culture and SocietyFor a libertarian, legalisation of prostitution is a no brainer. The answer is clearly yes. Today I got a chance to know how clear that was, from the viewpoint of sex workers when I saw Shohini Ghosh’s documentary Tales of the Night Fairies. Shot largely in Calcutta’s red light area of Sonagachi, it is a collage of stories of the sex workers struggle for their right to livelihood without prejudice.
The women organised themselves into the Durbar Mahila Samanyay Committee (DMSC) and promote the concept of self regulatory boards to prevent the entry of minors into the profession. They have an interesting idea of celebrating life and furthering their cause through music, dance and drama called Komal Gandhar. Thru it, these women organised India’s first millenium sex workers carnival in Calcutta in 2001.
Most of the women want to stay as sex workers — even those who were forcibly inducted into it. Most are not ashamed of their work. One actually wrote “sex worker” in the occupation column while filing in her daughter’s school admission form.
The most heartwarming story was of a woman who was forcibly prostituted at the age of 9. She was then “rescued” by the police, who in turn not only raped her, but mutilated her by slashing her thighs. She went back to Sonagachi and swore to beat up the police one day. It took many years and in the meanwhile she became a member of DMSC.
One day, the police organised a “surprise raid” (a euphemism for rape and mayhem by drunken policemen). She managed to thwart the drunken cops and took the sex workers who were molested to the hospital and got them treated. She also got the doctors to make a report. Armed with that report she went to the police station the next day. The station officer was well and truly cornered and stood not only to lose his job but also faced criminal prosecution. He begged forgiveness and a written “contract” between the police station and the sex workers was signed in which the police promised not to hold “surprise raids” and consult the DMSC as far as possible. Her victory on that piece of paper was sweeter than any physical blow she could have landed on a cop.
Later on she met up with the National Commission for Women whose chairperson spoke of rehabilitation. “Rehabilitation? We’re working women. We can support ourselves very well, thank you.” was the retort. “If you want to rehabilitate, there are 500+ old sex workers who no longer work and are supported by us, rehabilitate them.” Till now, DMSC has received no answer to that from the National Commission for Women.
It’s a myth that they don’t enjoy their work. One of the spirited women spoke of her job as “giving happiness to men” and she had great pleasure in doing her job.
All they want is to live their life in dignity and be recognised that their work should be treated no differently than others. Not too much to ask is it?
I salute these women. To me, they are nothing short of heroes.
You state, “For a libertarian, legalisation of prostitution is a no brainer. The answer is clearly yes.”
and
“who was forcibly prostituted at the age of 9″
Can you stop abduction and enslavement, especially of minors, while making the market for sex legal? Minors often do not have the information nor the courage to make chocies off their own free will. The argument that they can be “freed” later does not hold since most victims are not accepted back into society (their villages) and often go back “voluntarily” to that profession.
It will be interesting to study free market sex in Mughal India or during the times when the Hindu kings ruled. By most accounts courtesans graced society. During Mughal rule, however, children were often victims. In fact, some examples of 19th century Urdu poetry are alleged to refer to paedophilia.
Quizman, because you critique Yazad’s question acutely, I’ll take your answer for “legalisation of prostitution” as a “No”.
I think, getting getting prostitution under a rigid framework will give the sex-workers, society and the Government many advantages.
These are just a few.
Your rant about:
“…forcibly prostituted at the age of 9″ is baseless. Forcibly getting people to do anything at any age without their choice or consent is a crime. If there were concrete laws for the profession, such scenarios would be considerably lesser don’t you think?
Quizman, you are looking at prostitution from the wrong end of the gun. What has the Government and the society at large got to lose at large? Besides the stigma, parctically nothing.
‘Surprise raid’ by the Language Nazi
a euphemism for rape and mayhem by drunked policemen
and
She managed to thwart the drunked cops
ahem!
Amol,
If you had taken a deep breath and read my mail properly, you would’ve realized that my view was polar opposite of “no”. Why do you think I mentioned our culture permitting prostitution during Mughal & pre-Mughal eras.?
If you taken some more deep breaths, you would’ve also examined my statement about paedophilia and abduction vis-a-vis providing preventive protection as opposed to implementing laws ex post-ante.
You posited: “Forcibly getting people to do anything at any age without their choice or consent is a crime. If there were concrete laws for the profession, such scenarios would be considerably lesser don’t you think?”
In other words, you want more laws to protect people, since the existing laws lead to abuse. A very Galbraith-esque conclusion.
For once I completely agree with Yazad on the issue. Yazad what do you think about Health cards for the prostitutes (as required in Thailand - I think) which requires them to have frequent checkups and tehy are only allowed to carry out their profession if the health card is valid and they are clear of HIV. This woudl go a long way in reducing the spread of AIDS which I see as the only real downside to the profession.
CK,
However, we need to answer the question that I posited. Let me try the Socratic dialectic between myself. :-) [Yeah, I know that is an oxymoron]
Q. Why should paid sex be legal?
A. Because laws are inefficient. There will always be a market for sex.
Q. Just ‘cos people will find a way, we shouldn’t make anything legal. Do you want to make robbery legal?
A. That’s a false argument. Paid sex should be between two consenting adults. Robbery by its very nature, implcitly entails the application of force to disrespect property rights.
Q. Oh, how does that prevent forced prostitution?
A. If you legalize it, there will always be suppliers (voluntary sex workers) who meet demand (clients) for economic benefit. Thus, there will be no incentive for coercion. It is the same principle that applies to prohibition. If you make the market for liqour free, there will be no incentive to have an illegal hooch business.
Q. Ah, I see. So what is the downside?
A. There is no clear method to reduce paedophilia.
Q. Why are you so against child prostitution? Isn’t that simply a variant?
A. No, a child cannot make informed chocies off his/her own free will. Nor is a child economically self-reliant. He/She is dependent on his wards. A child can be coerced or forced into bondage. Thus, paedophilia is deviant behavior since it is the forced infringement of a child’s liberty. Not to mention the psychological trauma that the victim has to endure.
Q. So let me get this straight. You’re saying that in the market for sex, there will always be deviants (demand) who will want child prostitutes (supply)
A. Yes.
Q. So even if we make a free market for sex, there will always be an illegal market for child sex?
A. Absolutely.
Q. But wait a minute, how do you prevent it? You just told me that laws are inefficient and that we should have a free market for sex.
A. Exactly my question. How does one prevent it?
Q. Explain.
A. Anecdotal evidence shows that there was a free market for sex in the Mughal era. But that did not prevent child prostitution. In fact, during Ghalib’s times, Turkish boys were kidnapped and forced into slavery. It is alleged that there are many urdu shairs/shayari that extoll the poets love for children.
Q. So even if we pass a law banning child prostitution, there may be corrupt cops or deviants who will always find a workaround.
A. Yes.
Q. But can’t we catch them?
A. Yes, we can catch them. But it is *after* the crime is committed. But that is way too late. The child has already been sodomized and cannot often find a way back into society. Even if the child does find a way back, he/she is very traumatized.
Q. So how do we prevent this from happening?
A. You tell me.
Yay! For once, I too agree with Yazad.
A. Because laws are inefficient.
I don’t think “laws are inefficient” will ever be a good reason in my eyes. The right reason, in my view, is that there is nothing wrong with it as it “is between two consenting adults“.
I also dont buy the argument that coercive prostitution will go away because there will always be suppliers (voluntary sex workers) who meet demand (clients). That something is legal does not mean a “black market” doesn’t exist in parallel. One of the important valid opposition to legalizing prostitution is that prosecuting pimps who force women to prostitution will be more difficult.
But then, all this is from the legal point of view. What about the actual CSWs? removing the taboo associated with prostitution will be the first step in accepting CSWs and their children into the main stream. It will be the first step in ensuring rehabilitation of someone forced into doing this… rather than leaving her at the mercy of societal (sic) vultures.
I think the issue of prostitution and child prostitution are separate. The law against child abuse will niehter lose teeth nor be strengthened by legalizing prostitution.
I think the most important word in entire Yazad’s post is dignity. Yazad, you couldn’t have used a better title.
Quizman,
What is possible within the parameters of creation is exactly that. If the Child has parent’s to care - maybe the child is “safe“. Else he/she is not.
The purpose of a law is not to prevent something but to discourage what the society at it’s current state of evolution thinks is a hindrance to progress.
But what is progress and collective wisdom - in my opinion, they are actually voices of those who are powerful and wise enough to make sure they are heard. Creation is fascinating.
Niket, “The right reason, in my view, is that there is nothing wrong with it” goes into the realm of moral argument. You will find a lot of people, including those who do not practise organized religion, believe that the sex-trade is morally repugnant. You will also find lots of people who will claim that laissez-faire sex is morally the right thing to do. I was merely trying to stick to the economic/libertarian argument.
A black market does not exist in a market that is truly free. Since suppliers can charge exorbitant prices in cases where demand is inelastic. [Assuming that there will be people who will always want sex and will not suddenly turn into monks when prices go up]
I would argue that most libertarians, if not all, would believe in legalising prostitution. The struggle that I’m facing is to frame a system of checks and balances that would legalise prostitution and yet prevent the more deviant form - and this is important - **before it occurs**.
Maybe Yazad already has an answer to my question and I’m simply wasting time repeating myself. I’ve hogged enough bandwidth already.:-)
QUizman I think you are using the “..but think about the children argument”. This is something that can be applied to almost any situation where - examples where ‘think about the children’ has been used in America
- Ban on Gay marriage (seeing gay people in a sanctioned marriage will have a newgative impact on the hetrosexuality of children and may actually incline them towards homosexuality)
- Ban on legalizing Marijuana (children will see adults smoking it and will want to try it too)
All ridiculous arguments but children have been brought in to help an otherwise moral issue. The same can also be said for alcohol, cigaretttes - why even hetrosexual realtions and Valentine’s day (to go by what the Shiv Sena is saying all of these corrupt the children).
The only practical argument I see for not legalizing prostitution is the spread of STDs but if properly ahem….regulated (oops I mentioned teh hated ‘r’ word) it will actually bring down the spread of these diseases.
Ck,
I’m not arguing against legalization. Au contraire, I’m arguing for it. Your examples are not remotely analogous. :-)
All I want to know is how we, as libertarians (or liberals)*, can use the same reasoning to prevent child prostitution before it occurs, since we cannot create incentives that ensure that such deviant behavior would be rendered unnecessary. The only way is to make stringent laws and we all know that laws do not work. Heck, even during the Mughal days (draconian laws and stringent moral expectations) we had cases of child prostitution.
So give me a solution, please.
* liberals - as in the classical definition of the term.
Aspiring Cartel members, please point out the numerous logical flaws in Quizman’s conversation with himself. ;)
(Hint: even CK has spotted a couple.)
when sex work becomes synonymous with all other work, does child prostitution become synonymous with child labour? I once heard a sex worker speak at a forum, she said, stop telling us about aids. It is just another way of legally imposing control on our bodies. and if sex work is just work, then can one discriminate against workers with STDs. No other proffession is allowed to discriminate against workers with STDs/diseases. I would love to say that ’sex work is just like any other work’ but is it really? But Sex work is work, and it requires to be recognised legally.
at what age is someone no longer a child? all the ages mandated by positive law (16, 18 or even 21) are ARBITRARY. and all natural law theorists don’t agree to arbitrary positive law. sometimes, these can be quite absurd: like in india, you can vote at 18 but cannot buy a drink till 21!!
murray rothbard has a great take on this: he says that first, every child has the right to run away from home. if he/she does so, and is able to support himself/herself, no one can complain.
so, what if she sets herself up as a prostitute at 13?
well, according to natural law, she has had her periods, and is a major for all purposes. my grandmother got married at 13.
i also visit a small dance bar here, where i have observed that one of the girls must be a ‘minor’. but would she be safer with the police or some softhearted ngo?
i think she’s better of by herself, dancing, earning money, and under the protection of the barowners, who do not let any client harm her.
lastly, sudha shenoy makes a great point on child labour generally in 3rd world countries: she says that since life ends early here (life expectancy is low) life also must begin early here, and children must be allowed to work earlier than they are in the west.
think abt it: the peodophile stuff is just a bogey. let the sex industry be free. and let all the youngsters be free.
Quizman, for every right there’s a responsibility. And you need laws/rigid rules to get irresponsible behaviour into punitive action.
How do you enforce the minimum age requirements for someone to become a sex-worker without rigid rules and laws?
Amol,
That’s exactly my question. I don’t know. I’m asking you guys out there to come up with suggestions. My point was that we can solve the issue of adult prostitution by making it legal. However, I can’t think of a solution for child prostitution, since it is already illegal, but as Yazad wrote, “..was forcibly prostituted at the age of 9″, which means that the laws did not work in the way they were meant to. Ergo:
1. Laws do not work
2. Child prostitution cannot be made legal (it is deviant)
So what is the solution?
Quizman I finally get what you are asking. I think I (an apparently many others) were confused because you somehow tied forced child prostitution in with voluntary adult prostitution - the former is damaging to the individual who is a child (by whatever definition)and is a violation of human rights while the latter is merely an issue of morality.
I thik the child prostitution issue can be solved y issuing all sex workers with an ID card. Just as you are required to have driver’s license to drive a car, you will be required to have an ID card to be a prostitute. The ID card will also contain when you had your last HIV test which will be added incentive to customers to demand to see the ID before striking a deal. If you are going to have sex for money you might as well try and have it with someone who doesn’t have HIV right?
Of course ID cards will not be issued to minors - so eventualy customers will not want to have sex with prostituteswithout ID cards.
Again the ID cards don’t have to be govt. issued - just issued by an independent third party. Will there be corruption and cheating - of course - but taht is just human nature - but I’m sure it will alleviate the problem to some extent.
Ck,
I think the first reply started it all. All I meant to do was ask Yazad, “Hey, by legalizing prostitution, you’ve helped this lady now, but how would this have helped her when she was 9 years old?” I apologize if my comments were confusing.
Ck, your solution would work if two conditions are satisfied;
1. there is no demand for child sex
2. the market is a place of perfect information (suppliers and consumers know & expect ID cards).
Can these conditions be a reality?
1. there is no demand for child sex
There will always be a demand - the demand has existed since the dawn of cvilization (since the Romans and Greeks) and there is no reason to expect that it will go away. Th difference between then and now is that then it was accepted while today it is not.
2. the market is a place of perfect information (suppliers and consumers know & expect ID cards).
There will never be perfect information but suppliers and consumers can be expected to know to some extent. A regulatopn followed by an af campaign will work. If prostitution is legalized, prostitutes will also have to pay tax as professionals in which case it is even easier as they will have to file tax returns like the rest of us and in which case they will need a license to operate - just like a restaurant cannot operate without one, or a lwyer without a law degree or a doctor without an MBBS. Sure there are many people who cheat but by an large you are pretty sure when you go to a doctor that he is qualified and has at least an MBBS.
Sameer, Corrrections made. I was sitting in a mosquito infested cybercafé and was dying to finish the post and run out
Quizman, here’s my answer to your main point.
Forcing someone into prostitution is rape. I can very easily visualise a world where rape is illegal (as it takes away freedom) while sex work is not (consenting adults). Child prostituion is largely rape, although there will always be a controversy on the age of maturity, which, as Sauvik mentions, is arbitrarily fixed.
Let me give an analogy. I need someone to do my accounts. I kidnap an accountant and force him to do it. My act of kidnapping is obviously illegal, but it does not in any way impinge on the legality of accountacy as a profession. The same way, kidnapping a girl and raping her (with the objective of inducting her in your brothel) is obviously illegal. But it should not in any way make voluntary sex workers illegal.
Yazad,
I agree and my main point still hasn’t been answered. :-)
A crime can be prosecuted after it occurs, but in the case of child prostitution, won’t it be too late? That’s why I asked for a system of checks and balances to prevent child prostitution “before it occurs”.
I was asking if there are deterrents or strong signals that can be built to reduce/eliminate the economic benefit that allows rape. Immoral deviants will always keep committing crimes and we can only catch them after they commit it. However, the economic crime of child prostitution can possibly be prevented.
I was thinking more in terms of dis-incentivising parents/close-relatives/etc who sell their children down the river. Your own article talked about the lady being prostituted forcibly at a tender age.
How do we remove the economic benefit?
Sauvik,
I wanted to discuss your statement, “my grandmother got married at 13″, but had let it go. Since Yazad quoted you, I can’t let it pass.
It is a very simplistic argument that sounds logical at first glance, but crumbles away upon further examination.
The problem is one of sex as power. I’ll merely point out an an article by Madhu Kishwar that may shed light on how marriage is different from prostitution when it comes to individuality and decision making.
You state, “if he/she does so, and is able to support himself/herself, no one can complain.”. This does not address the problem of assymetric information. In many parts of India, innocent wives have been infected by philandering husbands. I’m sure these women have plenty to complain about. The two parties who had access to information (man, pro) did not share it with the one who did not(wife).
And finally, you state, “the peodophile stuff is just a bogey”. While this deviant behavior is probably not related to the legality or illegality of sex as a business and will always occur, I would contend that your statement is naive at best or dangerous at worst, particularly in light of Yazad’s article that triggered it all. Please read the first sentence of the fourth paragraph in his post.
This is probably my first comment here, but could not stop myself from reacting to Sauvik’s statement. “the peodophile stuff is just a bogey. let the sex industry be free. and let all the youngsters be free.”
Sauvik, you must be aware of the fact that paeodophiles do not stick to any age limits, sometimes they prey even on infants and toddlers. In such a heinous scenario, talking about setting children free and telling them to be responsible for their own actions is not only irresponsible but very sad.
Most of us back in India had a comparatively safe childhood where we could trust the Uncles and Aunties around us and happily hop into their laps. Things are just not the same anymore and we need more awareness and strict rules to act as a deterrent for such crimes. Please do not trivialise such a serious problem.
As for the *got my period, can reproduce” theory, I am not a student of Biology, but I can safely say that just because a girl has entered puberty, it does not mean that she has matured and can safely become a mother. Technically yes, but there are many other social, emotional and biological implications.
Prostitution is a moral offense against all society, and the people should rightly ask for the govt. to prohibit it.
Daniel,
In what way is it a moral offence?
I think it is immoral to throw someone in jail and deprive them of freedom just because you dislike what they do for a living. As long as that livelihood is achieved without forcing someone, I’d say, let it be.
Daniel seems to be an ardent SDA - I dated one of those once - their view of morals are very strict (as I found out to my disadvantage ;) and are based on their religious convictions - I would not try to chnage those.
SDA? Seventh Day Adventist? Oh dear, maybe Daniel doesn’t know that we’re largely atheist ;-)
I’m assuming based on the URL he linked to . Interesting point though - how do you argue rationally about economics. politics and sciology whn more that 75% of the world draw their inspiration from holy books. Their position is usually un-debatable because their ‘facts’ come from God himself. Hayek and Friedman pale in comparison with their mortal arguments in the face of HIS WORD. ;)
Yazad wrote “As long as that livelihood is achieved without forcing someone, I’d say, let it be.”
and CK wrote “when more that 75% of the world draw their inspiration from holy books.”
The more interesting point is whether the proposed means of livelihood impinges on the rights of others. Let us take a concrete example: Suppose two consenting adults conduct a transaction as Yazad posited. That is fine. Suppose they do it in Madman’s restaurant. Suppose, Madman’s restaurant became known as the place where such transactions took place and consequently, his clientele drifted away from the restaurant. Would Madman be justified in evicting the two? Would he be imposing his rights on theirs? [This is a relatively simple question. The more difficult ones follow.]
What if a bordello opened next door to Madman’s restaurant and his regular clientele were uncomfortable to visit his restaurant since it was in a “bad neighbourhood”. Would the bordello’s right of free trade override Madman’s right to practice business in a “family friendly neighbourhood”? What can Madman do in such a situation?
What if such a person moved next door to Yazad. Suppose the property prices of Yazad’s building went down as a result of this move. Would Yazad be justified in getting together with fellow residents and strongly discouraging her to practice her business in the building? Would their rights override her’s?
The above questions assume CK’s statistic to be true and that we do not live in a moral vacuum. i.e. most people are religious.
The last comment should read “Posted by Quizman”. I may have entered Yazad’s name by mistake. :-)
There would be two solutions depending on the world in which you live in.
In World A postitution is an illegal activity. Prostitutes are not allowed to ply their trade and are treated as criminals and their brothels are frequently raided. In this world Mad Man’s restaurant and Yazad’s house would win - they are both legitamate holding which are being affected negatively by a n illegal activity.
In World B prostitution is legal - it a business like any other which just happens to sell sex as a product. In which case the scenario that you outlined woud be resolved much like any other scenario in which there are competing needs. THe solution woudl be no differnt than a polluting industry negotiating with its neighbors and paying them compensation for the negative impact of their activity. A factory is not an illegal activity and nor is it illegal to pollute - but if you do pollute than you have to pay the persons affected compensation - in this case compensate Yazad for his declining property value and Madman for his lost clientele.
As regards the moral vacuum - the laws seek to institutionalize the moral values of a society. Laws unfortunately do not have to be rational or make sense - they are put in place to reflect the morality of a society. If a sciety changes its moral views - the laws will chnage with them - wither through legislation in a democracy or revolution in a dictatorship/monarchy.
Ck,
I’m assuming that it is legal.
You said, “paying them compensation for the negative impact of their activity”. Somehow, I don’t think that will fly, since the are doing a perfectly legit business and it is not up to them to be responsible for adhering to someone’s moral standards. As an analogy, change pro’s to and American neighbourhoods and examine whether your solution works.
Sheesh..sorry for the tyops. I meant change pros to “insert your favorite religious/racial minority” and American neighbourhoods….
Of course a business - even if legit is responsible. IF their activities (however legal) have negative impact on their neighbors, then they are very much responsible to come to a mutually acceptable solution. There is no real difference between a moral negative impact and say a physical negative impact from pollution. They are both by- products of a legitimate business and they both have negative impacts which means that somebody has to pay for it. In one case they offend the lungs of their neighbors and in another they offend the morals - whats the difference?
There are also zoning laws that prevent these conflicts. That is why you don’t often find (in the US at least) a school next door to a factory emmitting SO2 and across the street from a treatment facility for pedophiles and a block away from a strip club and drug rehab center. All of these are legitimate businessess and all provide valuable services to society however their activities are clearly not complimentary which is why there are zoning laws that prevent them from coming into conflict.
If prostitution is legalized it will also fall under the zoning laws and a brothel will not be allowed to operate in a residential neighborhood - just as a factory belching smoke is not allowed.
i hav got huge antipathy for health cards issued for sex workers… firstly who is gonna issue those cards??? if the government does it then only another reason to collect hafta will be created… if you say that different NGOs will compete against one another in ensuring safe sex… then that might be a good solution… but will be worthless wastage of resources according to me…
but the problem is that when talking about sex workers we always associate ourselves with the safety of the consumer (due to social taboo or something like that).. we hardly think of the supplier… why would any sex worker will feel happy to be contaminated by STD???
as yazad have seen in the film (and others among you who have seen it), the leader of the samiti of the sex workers in sonagachi asks others to force use of ‘caps’ (condom) while in business… not for the customer’s safety but for their own safety…
the argument that there must be safety cards for sex workers is just the same as the argument that the government should audit the books of all the corporates since they can fiddle with it to trouble customers…
if i know that i might die after using a certain commodity and still i want to use it, who is the government to stop me from doing so???
Whats wrong with different NGOs competing - I thought you were in favor of the free market. Why do you call competition between NGOS’ a ‘wastage’ of resources. Is competition between Coke and Pepsi a wastage of resources? After they both produce pretty much the same product - what a waste…;)
“why would any sex worker will feel happy to be contaminated by STD???”
Simple reason - lack of information. If they don’t know how STDs are spread - then they may not evenknow that thaey have the diseases - diseases like HIV can take upto 10 years to show any symptoms but you can stil pass it on during that period.
“if i know that i might die after using a certain commodity and still i want to use it, who is the government to stop me from doing so???”
This is true for cigarettes and drugs and I agree that it should be your choice and yours alone - but in the case of a disease you also infect other people with it which makes not just your problem but society’s problem. Should the governement of China not have quarantined people infected with SARS and allow them to mingle with the rest of the population - of course not - they were a hazard to public health and I think in sucha situation teh government has every right to stop you from affecting other people - even libertarians will agree with this I am sure.
1> wats wrong with NGOs competing?
>allow me to change your example of coke and pepsi a bit and explain why i think that competition in this case is wastage… coke and pepsi are producers, comparable to the sex workers themselves… NGOs are safety ensurers, comparable to a standard ensurer board… now what i mean is that there is no need for third party standard ensurer in a free market place… market does that job more swiftly and efficiently than anybody else can…
2>why will the sex workers be happy to have STD?
>it is true that there is a serious lack of information about STDs… but this lack of information is slowly getting removed through excellent job by NGOs who are working with them… we should put money where our mouth is and help these NGOs… and please see the documentary…
3>comparison between SARS and STD
> SARS is contaminable and STDs are not… this is why an office can legally suspend any worker affected by SARS but cannot do so in case of a person affected by any STD…
sex is supposed to take place between two consenting adults… if they do not wish to check whether the other one is ainfected with any STD or not… if they do not wish to use in precautions like condoms… then it is perfectly their own problem…
there has been a campaign lately to gift your loved ones a cancer check up… the same might be said abt STDs…
…
ending this i want to add that it might be the case one day that one sex worker will realise that having a ’safe certificate’ from a good hospital actually increase his/her customers… and other sex workers might follow that as a trade booster… this is the beauty of the market… you dont need to fiddle with it to make it work better… possibly you wont ever manage to do so… ;>
It is certainly a very distressing thought to think about when you are talking about the innocent being peddled like sex slaves. I think all humans not just people in India, need to respect children at all costs because they deserve it, and should have it!
Unfortunately, there are extremely sick individuals who would rather prey on the young and fulfill there sick desires or make money from them that it is a, as much as I hate to say it, a norm in 3rd world countries to do these sort of sick acts.
The best advice to give to people is to stay away from children at all costs, and let them keep their innocence.
Regards,
ValuePrep - Logical Relationship Advice,
Take Care