1. Should Prostitution be made legal in India or not?
Introduction:
Prostitution-the oldest profession on this earth is a widespread and contentious
issue for INDIA. Prostitution is the business or practice of providing sexual services
to another person in return for payment.
Present Legal status in India:
In India It is a “ Sexual Intercourse between socially inacceptable unions, and is
punishable for 3 years / 2000 ` fine under “Immoral Traffic Prevention Act which
is a 1986 amendment to the primary law passed in 1950 {known as the Immoral
Traffic (Suppression) Act}. If a woman uses attributes of her body voluntarily then
it’s legal and allowed. But the law prohibits/criminalize-
 Prostitution anywhere near a public place
 Publication of phone number of call girls
 Organized form of prostitution i.e. a brothel, pimps, Prostitution rings
etc.
 A sex worker being below 18 years of age
 Procurement and trafficking of women, children.
Ancient root:
 In ancient India, there was a practice of having Nagarvadhus, "brides of the
town". (Can be found in many of our Sanskrit-stories like Mricchakatika- by
Sudraka in 2nd century BC.)
 Prostitution groomed in India during 16th century Portuguese colonization
in GOA and 17-18th century British east India company period.

2. FACTS to FACE:
 In India close to three million women work as prostitutes, of which
1.2 million are below 18. The number of prostitutes rose by 50%
between 1997 and 2004.
 Increasing STD (sexually transmitted diseases) and health related
problems due to prostitution.
 India has an HIV/AIDS population of approximately 1.4-1.6 million
people making it the world's third-largest population suffering from
HIV/AIDS & Asia’s largest sex industry centre.
 Increase in the rate of Child trafficking over the years.
Why should we legalize & regulate it?
Reasons are:
 Supreme Court of India in December, 2009 asked the govt. “If you are not
able to curb it by laws then legalize it.” SC added that- legalizing
prostitution would help monitor the trade and rehabilitate sex workers.
 Let’s have a simple calculation : If there are 2 million prostitutes in India
and if each earns 1000 ` a day, then this leads to a total of ` 200 crore
revenue a day and roughly ` 72,000 crore a year.
By legalizing, government can earn a decent tax on this revenue, which will
be beneficial to the country’s economy.
 Legalizing will ensure a secure & safe future for sex-workers, their children
and those who’re involved in this.

3.  Government can implement some rules which may include
- Registration of each sex-worker
- Licensing of brothels, dalals, removal of middle-man
- Mandatory checks in order to ensure safety for the sex-workers
- Girl/child less than 18 years can be prevented from entering into this
profession.
 These measures will lead to decrease in
- STD/HIV Disease spread
- Child trafficking,
- women harassment, sexual violence, rape etc
 There are some countries in which legalization of prostitution not only
worked miracle but they have been able to curb STDs :
- Brazil
- Amsterdam (Netherland)
- New Zealand
- Thailand
- The Philippines and many more..
Why shouldn’t we legalize it?
Reasons are:
 To legalize prostitution would lead to gender inequality. Majority of
prostitutes in India are women. By legalizing, we openly commit ourselves
to the notion that female body is a commodity that can be bought by men
for money/sexual desires.
 Also it’s not a profession that should be promoted in India. Because many
of the sex-workers choose this as an ‘Absence of choice’. Due to drug
addiction, economical problems etc.

4.  By legalizing we would be declaring this as a profession to earn that is
hazardous to higher educational goals of young generation. It will become
legitimate excuse for teenagers to start dropping out from colleges; will
lead to loss of valuable workers/professionals.
 If we consider the handsome amount of tax that govt will get after
legalizing it, one question opposes this source of income: “Will ‘they’ pay
tax after the legalization?”
 Spread of contagious diseases, High risk of exposure to street crimes,
unsafe sex, and unemployment.
 Many legally young women would see this as a fast way to earn money
.Would you want your daughter/sister to think like that in the future?
 Increase in Divorce rates, hidden-illegal street prostitution.
 It will be like putting a band-aid on a wound which will further expand this
industry instead of curbing it.
 Legalizing prostitution will provoke the religious sentiments of Indian
culture.
Conclusion: Despite the traditional mindset and plethora of reasons for not
legalizing it, if we look at the current scenario –prostitution in India is here to stay,
difficult to curb 100 %. There’s a strong need for a law-structure to regulate it.

5. Source of data/facts/reference sites are :
 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5140526.stm
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostitution_in_India#cite_note-17
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HIV_in_India
 http://www.paklinks.com/gs/all-views/488889-countries-that-have-legal-
prostitution.html
 http://articles.cnn.com/2009-05-
11/world/india.prostitution.children_1_human-trafficking-india-
prostitutes?_s=PM:WORLD
 Human Rights Report: India(2008)