Mon Jan 13 03:55:07 UTC 2025: ## Indian Sex Workers’ Union Demands Labour Rights, Inspired by Belgium’s Legal Reforms
**Kolkata, January 13, 2025** – The Durbar Mahila Samanway Committee (DMSC), India’s largest collective of sex workers, held a strategy meeting on Sunday demanding labour rights and the decriminalization of sex work. The meeting drew inspiration from Belgium’s recent legislation granting sex workers comprehensive labour protections, including employment contracts, health insurance, and unemployment benefits.
The DMSC highlighted Belgium’s landmark law, passed in December 2024, as a model for reform in India. However, speakers acknowledged significant challenges in replicating the Belgian model, citing India’s vastly larger sex worker population and the complexities of enforcement. Professor Prabha Kotiswaran of King’s College London noted the difficulties in ensuring compliance and preventing exploitation, particularly given the involvement of third parties in the sex trade.
Participants, including social workers, lawyers, researchers, and human rights activists, emphasized the need for legal recognition of sex work as a profession as a crucial first step towards securing labour rights. Professor Kingshuk Sarkar of the Goa Institute of Management questioned the stigmatization of sex work, arguing that it, like other occupations, involves the use of one’s body.
Aparna De, Principal of South Calcutta Girls’ College, suggested incorporating sex work into the education system to combat societal stigma. Advocate Tripti Tandon of the Supreme Court noted that while the Belgian model helped balance power dynamics between sex workers and pimps, engaging with the latter remains a significant hurdle in India’s socio-political context.
The meeting concluded by emphasizing the importance of organizing sex workers, addressing intersectionality within the profession, and bringing marginalized individuals together to advocate for their rights and either inclusion in existing labour laws or the creation of new ones tailored to their needs.
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