Is sex work, work?
by Shilpa Samaratunge
- on 11/24/2013
Two weeks ago we found ourselves sitting in a room full of three wheeler drivers working in the olombo !ort area on what seemed like an all or nothing mission" #f all taboo topi$s we work with% se& work is perhaps one of the most diffi$ult to approa$h" The level of 'udgement and the la$k of understanding on the topi$ is unpre$edented" So how do you $oa& three wheeler drivers to talk about se& work in a $ountry where it is $riminali(ed but e&ists unrestrainedly in the shadows) *e started with +is there a se& industry in Sri ,anka)- to whi$h we got a series of protests" The meeting had barely begun and we had already got shut down" *e then tried a very elo.uent +/01,,2)3- to whi$h we got one sheepish +well4 not legally-" The door had opened a $ra$k and we didn5t hesitate to begin prying it open" 1n hour later we had been guided from everything to the demographi$ of se& workers in olombo to the demographi$ of their $lients% from spe$ifi$ lo$ations to times of day% from pri$es ranges of se& workers to $ommissions re$eived by three wheeler operators" They had intimate knowledge and shared their stories with da((ling $larity and simpli$ity but ultimately were of the view that se& work is $orrupt and should not e&ist" *hy three wheeler drivers) 6e$ause resear$h shows that three wheelers and their drivers provide an important link in the $ommer$ial se& trade% maintaining $onne$tions between $ommer$ial se& workers% their $lients and the lo$ations in whi$h se&ual e&$hanges take pla$e" Se& work finds its pla$e in the underbelly of most so$ieties% more so in $onservative $ultures like that of Sri ,anka" *hile it o$$urs and everyone knows it does% we $hoose not to open or
deal with that $an of worms" *ith up$oming plans for the s$aling up of the tourism and leisure industry and an influ& of tourists% the demand for se& work is more than likely to in$rease" 7is$ussion around se& work has been in$reasing in the media% amongst poli$y makers and $ivil so$iety a$tivists in Sri ,anka" The most re$ent is the 8athika 9ela :rumaya ;89:< statement that it would protest against every attempt to legali(e se& work in response to 7r" =imalka !ernando5s re$ent announ$ement regarding the long-standing demand to legali(e prostitution and provide se$urity for se& workers" 1$$ording to a statement issued by the =ational #rgani(er of the 89:% =ishantha *arnasinghe% +*e are totally against legali(ing prostitution or se& workers" *e lead our lives based on a 6uddhist $ulture" =o prostitute does her 'ob willingly" =o prostitute publi$ly demands her rights" #nly a minority of persons serving non-governmental organi(ations ;=>#< promote western liberalism and individual freedom% and speak up for them"The Sri ,anka *omen5s onferen$e held an emergen$y meeting on *ednesday ? =ovember on the matter of se& work and was unanimously against legali(ing se& work% perturbed that the matter had even arisen" ,egali(ing se& trade is seen as an insult to women in the $ountry4 does this mean that women involved in se& work be it through $oer$ion% desperation or $hoi$e are not women) 9ow do we $laim to speak up for women if we do not in$lude all women) @er$eptions of se& workers in Sri ,anka remain unevolved and sodden in stigma and shame" *ithin the $ountry a Aprostitute5 is $onsidered a person who $orrupts so$iety" Those who engage in it are so$ially $ondemned" This $lashes rather $onfusingly with the idea that all female se& workers are $oer$ed and trapped into being slaves" So whilst they are tri$ked and trapped into be$oming se& workers on$e that line is $rossed there is no $oming ba$k" ,egally $ausing sedu$tion% prostitution or unlawful $arnal inter$ourse are offen$es under Se$tion 11 of the Bagrants #rdinan$e =o 4 of 1C41" 1dditionally% $harges $an be made against those who use women for prostitution under @enal ode ;1mendment< 1$t ;=o" 22 of 1DDE< F Se$tion G" 1$$ording to the Sri ,anka @rogress /eport 2012 by :=1H7S in $ollaboration with the =ational ST7/1H7S ontrol @rogramme whi$h is under the Iinistry of 9ealth% +Hn 2010% a mapping e&er$ise was $ondu$ted to map the female se& workers and men who have se& with men" !our distri$ts were $overed in this pro$ess and population si(es were e&trapolated to the whole $ountry" The estimated !S* and ISI were 41%000 ;3E%000 F 4G%000< and 31%000 ;24%000-3G%000< respe$tively"These numbers are made up of the most vulnerable se& workers i"e" street based se& workers" These numbers do not in$lude those that work in bars% hotels% brothels and $asinos so one $an only assume the a$tual numbers must be far greater" Simply put $riminalisation is not working very well" 6asi$ally% it for$es people to operate in a $landestine manner in the illegal e$onomy" Ht sub'e$ts the workers to greater risk% they do not feel $omfortable $onta$ting the authorities when they have been abused or e&ploited% and it in$reases the $han$es of e&ploiters getting involved with them be$ause the workers are already vulnerable and may feel that they need e&tra prote$tion" 1$$ording to the A=ational @oli$y on 9HB and 1H7S in the *orld of *ork in Sri ,anka 20105 report by the Iinistry and ,abour and ,abour /elations
+7espite se& work being illegal in Sri ,anka% a large $lientele of men from all so$ial strata patroni(e the se& trade and very often% negotiating powers of female se& workers for safer se& have failed due to male dominan$e"#ne of the most $ompelling arguments for legali(ing and regulating se& work remains in the $ontrol of 9HB and Se&ually Transmitted Hnfe$tions ;STHs<" 9owever owing to the legal impli$ations of being identified a se& worker% it is reported that a large number of se& workers dislike keeping $ondoms with them so as to avoid being arrested by the poli$e" AJey @opulations5 is a terms that has evolved over time to refer to those people determined to be most at risk from 9HB" This in$ludes se& workers both male and female" 6oth the5 =ational 9HB @oli$y5 and the A=ational @oli$y on 9HB and 1H7S in the *orld of *ork in Sri ,anka5 a$$ept the e&isten$e and the need to work with this group" +!emale se& workers% men who have se& with men4 are identified as the most at risk populations in the $ountry" :nprote$ted se& among women and men have a$$ounted for C2"CK of the transmission% while 11"2K was due to unprote$ted se& between men"- states =ational @oli$y on 9HB and 1H7S in the *orld of *ork in Sri ,anka" The =ational 9HB @oli$y 3"10 states that +@reventative% edu$ational and $lini$al servi$es will be provided to those believed to be at high risk% in$luding se& workers% men having se& with men4These programs will be far from effe$tive as long as se& work is illegal" Iost se& workers would not $ome forward openly to re$eive any form of edu$ation or $lini$al servi$es for fear of being arrested and fined amounts they $annot afford" Therefore purely from a publi$ health perspe$tive% legali(ing and then regulating se& work would mean more robust 9HB and STH prevention plans% less e&ploitation and as the 89: rightly pointed out less se& workers who are unhappy and trapped in their 'obs" The law is one side of this debate% $ulture and religion whi$h shapes a large part of publi$ per$eption in Sri ,anka is a mu$h more diffi$ult hurdle to deal with" *hile religions and $ultures $ondemn se& work% its e&isten$e $annot be denied" The A=ational @oli$y on 9HB and 1H7S in the *orld of *ork in Sri ,anka5 states that +$hanging attitudes through dissemination of a$$urate information% in order to redu$e stigma and dis$rimination will be adopted"This responsibility lies largely in the media and its ability to shape publi$ per$eption" 0ditors who append photos to arti$les on the se& industry use ar$hetypesL women leaning into $ar windows% sitting on bar stools% standing amidst traffi$ M legs% sto$kings and high heels highlighted" 0ditors do this not be$ause they are too la(y to find other pi$tures but to show% before you read a word% what the arti$les are really aboutL women whose uniform is the outward sign of an inner stain" Skewed and sensationali(ed reporting $reates and perpetuates the idea that se& work is dirty% degrading and $orrupt" This $auses e&ploitation% STHs% violen$e and human traffi$king to soar" /eframing se& work as a$tual work would greatly de$rease the dangers and risk of e&ploitation and help regulate what is $urrently a hidden but very established industry" !inally the .uestion is not if we personally are $ompletely $omfortable with the idea of se& work but that there are a$tual lives on the line and our ideologi$al purity matters very little in relation to the physi$al safety of them as human beings" 1t the end of the day what led them to se& work or why they $ontinue it $an be $oer$ion%
poverty or $hoi$e but without knowing se& workers and their $ir$umstan$es we $annot really $reate poli$ies for or against them" Stigma keeps this massive industry underground% and also sub'e$ts se& workers to unpunished physi$al violen$e from $lients% employers% and poli$e" 1s .uoted before +=o prostitute publi$ly demands her rights- a$$ording to =ational #rgani(er of the 89:% =ishantha *arnasinghe" +H was kept naked in a room% was for$ed to have se& for three months by so many men H $ould not tell you who they were or des$ribe them if H wanted to" 1ll H know is H $olle$ted the few $oins some of them would throw at me and one day es$aped- said one se& worker we spoke with% who by now is well over E0 years of age" *as she raped) an a se& worker be raped) This is one of many stories from the other side of the tra$ks" onsidering her $urrent illegal status if she were to demand her rights not as a se& worker% not even as a woman but as a human being4 *here $ould she go) Shilpa Samaratunge has a degree in journalism from the University of Queensland, and works with the Grassrooted Trust. N0ditors noteL The author is also part-time with the entre for @oli$y 1lternatives% the institutional an$hor of >roundviewsO"
