When someone says ‘sex work’ in India, what do you assume? That it is illegal and that everyone involved in it is probably a victim of trafficking? The reality however, is far more nuanced. An adult engaging in voluntary sex work is not a crime in India. Running a brothel, public solicitation, other activities connected to sex work and human trafficking, however, are crimes. About two weeks ago, the Supreme Court delivered a landmark judgement hinged on this distinction spelling out clearly that a voluntary sex worker could not be treated in the same manner as a trafficked victim. It said that a raid cannot now sweep up all women found in red light area and confines them in protection homes – it must determine if she is a victim of trafficking or a voluntary worker and that the woman’s consent must be the primary consideration when it comes to rehabilitation.

What does this judgement mean for sex work in India? Do our laws on sex work need to change? Why does rescue and rehabilitation in India invariably mean confinement in a home and how do other countries navigate this?

Guest: Prof. Prabha Kotiswaran, Professor of Law and Social Justice at King’s College, London

Host: Zubeda Hamid

Producer: Jude Francis Weston

For more episodes of In Focus: