Child Prostitution in India - Essay Example

?Introduction Child prostitution in India is a social dilemma, which has been taking place for many years under the watchful eyes of the ities.A child below the age of 18 years is supposed to be protected by the society at all cost irrespective of the economic, social or political constraints present in that society. India has failed to fulfill this objective as the rate of child abuse through forced entry into prostitution continues to grow at an alarming rate of approximately 8 to 10% p.a. Out of the estimated 900 000 prostitutes in India, children account for approximately 30%, which translates into 270000 children, a number which could be even higher (Gathia 25). This paper is a critical evaluation of child prostitution in India as well as ways through which the dilemma can be resolved. Child Prostitution in India India is categorized as one of the most highly populated countries in the world, with majority of its citizens suffering from abject poverty. Statistics indicate that more than 300 million out of the total population of approximately 944 580 000 people are living below poverty line, as per early 1990’s reports (Shephered 62). This ratio has definitely increased based on the fact that the total population has increased significantly to hit the 1 billion mark, making it the second most populous country after China. Out of this population, 25% is believed to be living in urban areas, which is a recipe for the establishment of informal residential areas that are unsafe and unhealthy for bringing up children. Due to these factors, families have been trying all methods to make ends meet and this has resulted to numerous cases of child abuse, who are introduced to child labor and prostitution at a tender age (Sahni 12). Child prostitution may be defined as the involvement of children below the age of 18, depending on the legal definition of an adult in a country or society. It is prohibited in most of the countries around the world, even in those that legalize prostitution but there is a tendency in India whereby the locals are comfortable and in fact, some sources indicate that parents, who are supposed to offer protection to these children, are the main perpetrators of this heinous activity (Sahni 39). The girl child is given little significance in most of Indian societies who view them as sex tools such that they are even sexually abused by immediate members of the family such as the father, brothers among others. Some sources indicate that this habit begins in the marital bed, where couples incorporate their children in their sexual activities and sometimes, they are ‘loaned’ to neighbors for the same purposes. Mothers are said to use masturbation as a technique to send their female children to sleep and to enhance masculinity in boys, which is according to observers (DeMause 21). By the time they reach the age of 5 or 6, these children are already aware of their sexuality and thereby will go ahead to practice what they have been experiencing at the hands of their parents. On the other hand, child prostitution in India has been observed as being motivated by cultural and religious practices by the society rather than poverty as with other third world countries. An example is the tradition whereby young girls are offered as sacrifices to gods, in a practice known as Devdasi and which is widely accepted in majority of Indian cultures. Once these girls are relocated to the temples, they become what are widely referred to as religious prostitutes, who sleep around with different priests (Gathia 51). However, this kind of prostitution is different as it does not have the commercial aspect in it. This is to imply that these girls are not compensated for their services and as such, they are more of sex slaves as they are not allowed to make their own decisions on how to control their sexual activities especially choosing preferred clients. Despite the banning of this tradition in 1982, the society has continued to practice it, insisting that observing the restriction would amount to disregarding tradition, which is deeply rooted in the country (Gathia 53). The prevalence of HIV/AIDS in the country has been increasing substantially over a long period of time, probably due to poor sex management, which has contributed to atrocities such as incest, adultery, fornication and high levels of prostitution across the board. Brothels are common in the country and they operate in the full glare of the authorities and since they are not strictly regulated, it may be correct to observe that they are contributing significantly to the ever increasing HIV prevalence. 2009 statistics indicated that there were approximately 2.4 million people living with the condition, an increase by approximately 0.4 million people with regard to 2007 statistics (Petera 565). This may however seem as a low figure but it may be important to note that India is categorized third among the world countries with the highest prevalence rates of HIV infections. Despite the wide knowledge on the subject, based on the fact that methods of HIV prevention and cure are well broadcasted, there is a worrying belief among some Indian men that virgin women have the capacity of disinfecting sick persons from the effects of HIV (DeMause 25). In addition, these men believe that the possibility of young women contracting the virus is minimal as opposed to their adult counterparts and hence they feel safe having sex with underage girls. As with any other business, the demand for a commodity motivates the businessmen and women to stock that commodity so as to maintain the customers else they would have to search for it somewhere else. Similarly, this belief has increased the demand for young underage girls, some as young as 10 years, who are traded and stationed in brothels, where they are availed to these men at exorbitant prices hence the high prevalence of child prostitution. In addition, such men are always ready to pay high prices for a virgin to accept sleeping with them and this has lured underage girls into this vice for the sake of economic benefits (Patel 23-28). However, it is important to note for the sake of clarity that there is not a single research, which has proved that this belief is well placed and as such, it only remains a myth. Consequently, these children have continued to contract HIV alongside other sexually transmitted diseases at the expense of the pleasures of such an uncaring society. Child trafficking has also continued to boost child prostitution in the country. It is estimated that more than 7000 women enter India from Nepal on yearly basis, with 50% of these constituting underage girls of below 18 years (Sahni 62). It is believed that these children are sold off by their impoverished parents to madams operating brothels in India, so as to support their own livelihoods. Worse enough is the fact that some of these children are as low as 8 years of age, which portrays the level of evil that has alienated the mindsets of parents in this region. However, it may be necessary to note that some of these parents are promised that their children will be working in decent environments such as house helps, which seems genuine enough to allow a child to travel to this country among other Asian countries. Upon arrival, the women are forced to hand over their travel and identification documents after which they are denied any contact with their families back home, so as to subdue them to their new occupations i.e. prostitution. With no one to turn to, especially since the authorities may be involved in this scheme through corruption, and the fact that they are paid inadequate salaries that cannot cater for their tickets back home, the women are forced to align themselves with the system or risk being thrown out on the streets where they would probably encounter more harsh conditions. different surveys indicate that prostitutes in this country are paid an average $88 per month, which is then subjected to deductions so as to compensate the overseer of the activities in a brothel among other expenses such as food and accommodation and to top it all, they have families who look up to them for financial assistance (Patel 85). The rate at which child prostitution in India has taken root definitely calls for immediate course of action by all stakeholders, be it the government, NGOs, the society, religious groupings among others. This is due to the fact that statistics indicate that more than 200 young girls and women are being subjected to forced prostitution on daily basis and worryingly enough, if the trend is maintained then it is believed that 1 out of 5 girls in the country will be child prostitutes in the next 14 years i.e. 2025 (Gathia 72). To begin with, it is a must to acknowledge that poverty is a major contributing factor to child prostitution. The government has the mandate of ensuring that there is equitable distribution of resources and the provision of employment for its citizens. This can be achieved through promoting youth self help groups and empowering women by the way of making loans accessible to them so that they can develop their own businesses. However, for this to succeed the value of women in the society must be stressed and gender equality promoted so as to clear the perception that women are inferior to men. In addition, the government should work hard to improve the level of literacy in the country by providing affordable education to all citizens. The caste system should be abolished so as to give room to equality and development across all categories of people living in the country (Shephered 45-60). Religious beliefs and traditions such as Devdasi, which promote child prostitution, should also be abolished through the enactment of laws that strictly prohibit them. It should be realized that we are in the 21st century where the level of understanding regarding the sanctity of human life and dignity is as its peak. The perpetrators of such atrocities should be arrested and punished severely so as to set an example to others with the same behavior. Brothels that subject children to prostitution should be closed and close monitoring of their operations put in place. This would have to be solved together with child trafficking. These activities go against the conventional human rights in the international law, which protect human beings from being subjected to inhumane acts such as sexual harassment and forced prostitution. The notion that virgins and underage girls are a remedy to curing or protecting oneself from HIV shows that this society does not have sufficient access to materials related to the topic of HIV/AIDS (DeMause 30). As a result, sex education should be introduced in schools at the earliest time possible and made compulsory for all students. For the sake of those who do not have access to education, they should be taken care of through a nationwide campaign aimed at providing information on this topic so as to enlighten them on the real nature of HIV infection and treatment. Failure to do this in an urgent manner will ruin the future generations of this country based on the fact that children will continue to acquire the virus at very tender ages thereby ruining their chances to reach adulthood and participate in developmental activities. Works Cited DeMause, Lloyd. “The History of Child Abuse.” Journal of Psychohistory 25.3 (1998): 20-35 Gathia, Joseph. Child Prostitution in India, Concept Publishing, 2008 Patel, Singh. Brothel Prostitution in India, University Book House, 2003 Petera, Vickerman. “To what extent is the HIV epidemic in southern India driven by commercial sex? A modeling analysis.” Journal of the International AIDS Society. 24.16 (2010): 563-572 Sahni, Rohni. Prostitution and Beyond: An Analysis of Sex Work in India, Sage Publications, 2008 Shephered, Andrew. Chronic Poverty and Development Policy in India, SAGE Publications, 1999 Read More