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Inhuman treatment of sex workers
 Let me begin this week's article by welcoming the gesture of Police Commissioner K Vijayakumar in stating that a full-scale inquiry had been ordered into the way the police had handled the Anna Nagar Tower Park incident and admitting that some officers had been “over-zealous”. We should also be thankful to him for stating that it was a mistake to have given to the media the photographs of the men arrested and remanded in connection with the incident and that the policy of giving photos to the media would be reviewed.
It was also nice of him to say that the cases against many of them would be dropped, and that even if there were cases of indecent behaviour in a public park, the police ought not to have taken such severe action.
However, what is irritating is the statement of the Joint Commissioner, Central, that he would have a cup of tea with the boys concerned to compensate them, as if that would heal the scars. What is the point in having a cup of tea now, after having subjected them to the humiliation of arrest and remand, some of them far away in Vellore central prison, and after having their photos published in the media, as if they were hard-core criminals?
If the Commissioner is really serious about his proposal to “sensitise' senior police officers on how to handle such delicate issues as couples conversing in a park, he will have to start soon, in right earnest, and begin with the
JCs.
Just as the controversy over the Anna Nagar incident has been sought to be defused, a new issue has cropped up over the way film actress Vinitha and her family members have been treated.
A few days ago, Vinitha, a heroine in Tamil cinema, was arrested by the Chennai City Police, for allegedly having had sex with a South Korean multi-millionaire businessman. The Chennai City Police got their photographs published in the media. The South Korean businessman was sent to prison and Vinitha and her mother were kept in the Women's Home for three days before being released on bail.
For the past several years, arresting sex workers and humiliating them by publishing their photographs in the media has become a routine affair for the Chennai City Police. Even though various women's fora and several retired police officers have strongly condemned this practice, it has fallen on deaf ears. The Chennai City Police has not changed its style of functioning.
The English rulers, who were masters in 'Penology', had devised punishments in a systematic manner. Crimes like murder and kidnapping were viewed seriously and they imposed long-term imprisonment. Crimes regarding property were viewed less seriously and they attracted shorter terms. The offence of prostitution is neither a crime against persons nor against property. It is only an act against morality and hence the English rulers imposed mostly monetary punishment like fines. But unfortunately, the Chennai City Police framed a new form of 'penology' and treat these offenders as more dangerous than notorious criminals. While the media was not given material and information regarding even notorious criminals, the activities of the sex workers were always
publicised.
The plight of several sex workers is indeed pitiable. Majority of the young girls who were arrested under prostitution had a sad family background. A teenaged sex worker said that she had lost her father at an early age and she came into the profession to save her family which includes five sisters. A young, good-looking woman said that she came into the profession only a few weeks before, and that too temporarily, to earn one lakh rupees for her husband's kidney operation. Another girl had to raise money for her father's heart opearation. There are many husbands who are full-time drunkards, and their wives entered this profession reluctantly, with the sole aim of feeding their families. The question is why humiliate these women, who are victims of circumstances, by splashing their photos in the media. Sometimes, such tactics may force some of these women to commit suicide.
In their regimes as Chief Minister, M Karunanidhi and M G Ramachandran, had taken a soft view regarding sex workers and had ordered that one need not make a hue and cry about the issues relating to cine actresses. Most of the senior police officials accordingly took a lenient view and such issues were not looked at too seriously.
One cannot argue that prostitution should be given a free hand. There should definitely be some control, for if the profession flourishes, it could lead to kidnapping of many girls, including minors. Moreover, even girls from good families may get the wrong message and get tempted to be involved in the profession. Therefore, controlling the offence is very much essential in the interest of society, and policemen are duty bound to perform this job. However, the important thing is carry out their functions subtly and without fanfare so as not to affect the future of the girls involved.
Let the police be harsh on brokers and brothel-owners, but they could show mercy to the victims, by not giving details about them to the media. It would not be out of place to mention here that the media too should desist from publishing graphic details or show pictures of the arrest and remand of women in such cases. The media too should keep in mind social responsibilities and not be concerned only with sensationalism.
Harvey
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