BEYOND THE MARGINS: NAVIGATING HUMAN RIGHTS OF SEX WORKERS IN INDIA’S LEGAL AND SOCIAL LANDSCAPE

Sex Work, Trading body for Money, Human Trafficking for organs and money are no longer an unknown crime in a developing country like India. There are various legislations also established by the government to protect the rights, duties, dignity and equality of sex workers, aiming at providing equal and better status for Sex Workers. Through this paper, the researcher strives to develop a critical analysis on the legal and sociological angular of sex workers in India. Despite constitutional guarantees of dignity and equality established and practiced for more than 70 years, the sex workers experience systematic marginalization through discriminatory practices, violence and limited access to essential services. The paradoxical legal framework which itself treats sex work as not legal but a related activity are illegal or criminalized has perpetuated exploitation which failed to address the underlying socioeconomic vulnerabilities of these women. Moreover, recent judicial interventions particularly the landmark judgment of Supreme Court on 2022 in V Abhishek v State of Tamil Nadu directly recognizing sex work as a profession and refraining the police authorities from arresting or taking action against such individual, being an adult indulging in sexual act with consent is a milestone in the recognition of rights of these individuals, however, the substantial gaps between them persists progressive jurisprudence and ground realities. The researcher also analyzes the evolution of legal approaches to sex work in India, evaluating contemporary violation of rights including in healthcare, housing and legal protection which examines community led resistance and advocacy initiatives. Through qualitative analysis of judicial decisions, legislations and rights based framework, this paper highlights the necessary for legislating meaningful human rights protection requiring comprehensive policy reform that addresses structural inequalities while centering sex workers’ agency and voices also suggests that decriminalization, coupled with robust anti-discrimination measures and programs for economic empowerment programs offers the most promising path towards realizing fundamental rights of these marginalized population. The researcher hereby put forth a right based approach to necessitate reconceptualizing sex work through the lens of labor rights and human dignity rather than on morality and criminalization.
Keywords: Sex Work, Criminalization, Human rights, Constitution, Healthcare;