Prostitution in India

India has laws regarding prostitution that make lawful prostitution difficult. However, the act of prostitution is legal. It is not against the law for a person to receive or give money for sexual acts. On the other hand, it is illegal to keep a brothel, pimp prostitutes, actively solicit johns or traffic prostitutes in India. In a way, these laws would keep control of prostitution in the hands of individual prostitutes. However, they are not always enforced.

India has a long history of prostitution. There were even sex slaves in India, though that is an entirely different practice and does not fall under modern legal prostitution in India. When India was under British influence and control, prostitution did not wane. In fact, the number of prostitutes brought to India from other countries soared. Both the British and native Indians partook in the practice of trading money or goods for sexual encounters.

The number of prostitutes in India could be as many as twenty million. Most estimates put the number at, at least three million. Many of these prostitutes enter into the trade as minors. India does not regulate prostitution beyond a few laws regarding decency, traffic and solitictation, so there is little to be done. Workers can have intercourse without regard to disease or protection. There is no enforced disease testing and no law stating that such tests would have any impact on the woman’s career if the results were positive. In short, prostitution in India is a public health concern, as well as an avenue for the exploitation of minors.

All of the Indian laws regarding prostitution pertain to woman, as there is no acknowledgement of male prostitution in Indian law. Nonetheless, there are many male prostitutes in India, catering to both men and women. Like the female prostitutes, they may work for Indians or for foreigners. Unfortunately, male prostitutes are victimized because of their status and may even find themselves harassed by the police, despite their being no laws pertaining directly to their trade. When it comes to female prostitutes in India, the laws seem much more enlightened, but they do little to protect workers in practice.