NEW DELHI (TrustLaw) - India's new law on punishing sex crimes against women has, for the first time, distinguished between sex workers who are in the profession of their own free will and those who are being forced into it, signalling a more progressive attitude towards prostitution by lawmakers, the Times of India reported on Monday.
The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2013 or "anti-rape law" introduces a slew of new provisions and stricter penalties, such as criminalising voyeurism, stalking and trafficking after the fatal gang rape of a woman in the Indian capital in December sparked public protests.
Under the new law, exploitation includes any form of physical or sexual exploitation, said the report, but does not include prostitution as in previous drafts of the law.
"Dropping the term prostitution as exploitation will help sex workers and their advocates to legally contest oppressive and forced sex work. It will also help sex workers to fight for safe and dignified work conditions," Madhu Mehra, a lawyer, was quoted as saying.
Sex work is illegal in India, largely due to its link with human trafficking but also due to societal and religious beliefs which see the buying and selling of sex as immoral.
Activists say the omission of the word prostitution will help differentiate between sex workers who are in the profession by their own consent and those who are trafficked into it.
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