Will India Decriminalise Prostitution?

An interesting question has been posed by India's Supreme Court to the government. The court has asked the government why it doesn't legalise prostitution?

"When you say it is the world's oldest profession and you are not able to curb it by laws, why don't you legalise it?" Judges Dalveer Bhandari and AK Patnaik asked a government solicitor.

"You can then monitor the trade, rehabilitate and provide medical aid to those involved."

The solicitor said that he would look into the court's suggestions.

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According to an About.com article, prostitution is illegal in only a few countries such as the US (except 10 counties in Nevada state), India, Argentina, and some Muslim and Communist countries. Taiwan recently decided to decriminalise prostitution.

How do you think the Indian government will respond to the Supreme Court's suggestion?

You may recall the recent landmark ruling in which India decrimalised same-sex relationships.

It is not good to legalize prostitution.. the supreme court judge doesnt realize that only 10 to 20% of the women involved in prostitution are doing it by their own choice.. rest a vast majority comes from women who were trafficked(by luring for jobs of house maids and jobs in foreign countries) and sold off, their kidneys removed and sold off and their life spoiled in such a way that they themselves wont want to return to their family even after being a victim and forced into prostitution and locked and kept into brothels. Most of the men and college teens who visit brothels get infected with HIV/AIDS.. so what will they say to their parents? their life is now spoiled too.

I bet the supreme court judge might himself been visiting brothels.. so such ideas come into his mind.

Legalizing gay and lesbian relationships was right because it didn't involve any sort of anti-social or bad thing.. it was just men and women loving and willing to live with each other.. there was no trafficking/forced to work/scandals in such a thing..

but there is a lot of rackets and scandals involved in prostitution all around the planet.. and due to only 10 or 20% of women who take this profession or prostitution themselves.. we cant allow other victim women and children to get trafficked and forced into brothels and prostitution. so its really not right to legalize it.. say a school girl is walking from her school back to her home.. some pimps kidnap her in the road side in a van and keep her in brothel and force her into prostitution and spoil her life in such an extreme way every thing from selling away her two kidneys and cutting her flesh to torturing her to giving her drugs till she gets highly addicted to it and even gets HIV/AIDS infected some day and now she willingly doesn't want to return back to her home even if she is rescued by Police after some months of search as her life has already been spoiled by her kidnappers.. then her parents cant do anything to get her back or to punish the people who spoiled her life.. as prostitution is deemed legal.. be it done any way... will you like this? tell me your answer! at least i wont!

if i were the PM of india.. i would shut down all brothels in single day with the help of army.. as police and MP's/MLA's are all useless and bribe-takers in our country and their existence is the only reason why prostitution, maoists, and all anti-social things still exists in our country. Plus i would also put all prostitutes & pimps in jail for lifetime imprisonment or get them all hanged-to-death... as only showing them fear is the key to handle such situations... legalizing such anti-social things makes matters even worse in future both for the people and for the nation.

I would like to add one more comment here..

There is a difference between legalizing PORN and Legalizing PROSTITUTION, though both are bad, PROSTITUTION is more of an anti-social thing involving lots of scandals/rackets and trafficking, PORN may be damaging in nature but it can be made in a controlled environment like a movie studio where people(be it men or women) willingly participate into it by signing an agreement/contract.. but In PROSTITUTION.. 80 to 90% of the women in most countries including India.. don't willingly participate.. they are forced into it and their old and aged parents don't even know whether they are dead or alive after been missing for months or years of time. So for the sake of saving these women and children from scandals and trafficking and all.. prostitution should not be legalized anytime anywhere.

All for decriminalising , it is an unavoidable fact, and will be a fallacy to think it can be wiped out,has been ignored too long in the veil of the dark alleys of the underworld and the underhand.
Legalising it would have stiff resistance as the moralists would have their alice in wonderland dreams or an adam-eve-garden of eden;utopian ideas of society.

if i were the PM of india.. i would shut down all brothels in single day with the help of army.. as police and MP's/MLA's are all useless and bribe-takers in our country and their existence is the only reason why prostitution, maoists, and all anti-social things still exists in our country. Plus i would also put all prostitutes & pimps in jail for lifetime imprisonment or get them all hanged-to-death... as only showing them fear is the key to handle such situations... legalizing such anti-social things makes matters even worse in future both for the people and for the nation.

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if wishes were horses, i would be riding a chariot of fire,
however it might not see the end of the light very soon for a variety of reasons,however if there is a scope , it should be embaraced. decriminalising would make it an accountable act whereby even those unwillingly sucked into the quagmire would have a second chance to come out of the closeted and dark world in the ambit of law. others in it by choice would feel more secure and the proponents and enablers would think twice about the viability of their operations when out in the open.

The impact on the cultural fabric of what is possibly one of the most conservative societies in the world with regard to the subject being discussed, is what makes it very challenging to deal with.

But yes, the issue need to be addressed nevertheless.

abhishekjha said:

80 to 90% of the women in most countries including India.. don't willingly participate

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The fact that prostitution is illegal in India hasn't helped these women much.

Ceres said:

The fact that prostitution is illegal in India hasn't helped these women much.

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well then if you can think this way.. then i'll say why not close the schooling and education system permanently.. coz just let me think like you.. and point out that even 90 to 99% of all women, men and children dont like to study in schools in their childhood days.. so why not close the education system at all.. that would help more people as there are more people who are disturbed by going to schools and "the fact that keeping schooling compulsory hasn't helped these people around the planet much as still illiteracy remains no matter how much schooling and education you give to people" so if you are to do something for the bigger masses then close the schooling system first.. then when everybody becomes illiterate then you can make any other things legal as you wish... as all illiterate people wont know what you are doing so no body will oppose to any laws you make.. isn't that a nice advantage .. and the best part of all which you may forget that.. since people will be illiterate and no body knows what laws you make legal so no-body will follow any laws too cheer up!

PS: Don't take my comments personally.. they just show my own point-of-view.. since everybody is unique.. so everybody can have their own unique point-of-views and that's why forums need many people.. so they can get many point-of-views on any topic they want whether or not the persons replying may or may not even know about it in the first place !

If India legalized prostitution it would earn a windfall from Tiger Woods.

abhishekjha said:

"the fact that keeping schooling compulsory hasn't helped these people around the planet much as still illiteracy remains no matter how much schooling and education you give to people"

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Yes, for some people illiteracy remains a problem. However, the education system does actually help many people learn how to read and write.

Assuming no one is being exploited and we are dealing with consenting adults, then I think both porn and prostitution should be made legal in India. Forcing someone into prostitution would this be illegal, and obviously more must be done to stop the exploitation of women as outlined in your earlier post.

abhishekjha said:

Don't take my comments personally.

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Not at all. I can cope with it if someone has a different point of view than my own.

newyorkdude said:

If India legalized prostitution it would earn a windfall from Tiger Woods.

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Hee hee.

Well but won't i make easy for the law makers to track it .Since women would be forced whether there it is a rule or not but atleast if they get recognition then they can get normal civic rights as other people have.

shonmaster said:

Well but won't i make easy for the law makers to track it .Since women would be forced whether there it is a rule or not but atleast if they get recognition then they can get normal civic rights as other people have.

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hey dude,
im in the mood of some debate today.
Well, let me tell you by my own TRUE & LIVE example.. "I am a citizen of india, live in a civilized colony and a metropolitan city of kolkata and remains among various people, study in a well reputed university, and am 22 yrs old and make some lot of money online".. so till date i havent been tracked by income tax dept for not paying taxes, i havent been tracked by electoral list for voting rights and i havent yet got even a voter id, driving license or any residencial proof even if you take it in the name of my parents, not mine..
so whats the moral of the story..?
1>when india govt couldnt track me as a citizen of india and couldnt collect even taxes from a residing legal citizen.. then do you expect that legalizing prostitution would make it easier for govt. to track the number of women, girls & their present place & conditions? that's just impossible!
2>prostitutes aren't different looking creatures with horns on their head and some uniqueness to differentiate them from other women when you see them at a vegetable market or say a grocery shop.. and neither a vegetable vendor refuse to sell vegetables to a prostitute.. or say a doctor doesn't refuse to attend to a prostitute.. because they all look like regular women.. and have nothing unique like horns to differentiate them from other women.. so how can you claim that right now they are not getting civic rights? who knows the woman in your neighborhood may be a prostitute and you may not even be aware of it? and adding the fact that legalizing would give them civic rights is just some technical term which i dont understand as all men, women, children who are indian citizen already have equal civic rights.. there is no law in place in indian govt. at present which differentiates the civic rights of prostitutes with civic rights of other indian citizens... got my point?
an exception is that some of these prostitutes are not able to go out anywhere and enjoy a regular life.. so what? if your dad or grandparents lock you in home for 5 days then what can your neighbours(even if they know) do to get you out? in most cases.. nothing!
and at that time when you are locked in the house.. will you not get food and will you not have equal civic rights? thats all rubbish.. the truth is that when you fall sick.. they will definitely attend to your needs.

regards,
Abhishek