A comprehensive study on ‘Girls and Women in Prostitution’, conducted in 2004, which was sponsored by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, had estimated that there were 2.8 million prostitutes in the country of which 36% are children. The State/Union Territory wise data on number of girls/women in prostitution, as estimated by the Study, is given below.

 

Sl. No.	State/Union Territory	Number of girls /women in prostitution
1.	Andhra Pradesh	320024
2.	Arunachal Pradesh	2750
3.	Assam	52625
4.	Bihar	161321
5.	Chhattisgarh	12500
6.	Goa	5375
7.	Gujarat	146950
8.	Haryana	15500
9.	Himachal Pradesh	5375
10.	Jammu & Kashmir	15500
11.	Jharkhand	20000
12.	Karnataka	200701
13.	Kerala	68750
14.	Madhya Pradesh	144338
15.	Maharashtra	401300
16.	Manipur	4875
17.	Meghalaya	4250
18.	Nagaland	6000
19.	Orissa	45066
20.	Punjab	45000
21.	Rajasthan	167305
22.	Sikkim	425
23.	Tamil Nadu	303750
24.	Tripura	1375
25.	Uttar Pradesh	271868
26.	Uttarakhand	8125
27.	West Bengal	367058
28.	Chandigarh	10750
29.	Daman & Diu	493
30.	Delhi UT	16785
31.	Pudducherry	1400
	Total	2827534

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Ministry of Women and Child Development has undertaken a pilot project which is being jointly implemented by Central for Advocacy and Research (CFAR), community based organizations in close coordination with National Resource Centre for Women and State Resources Centre for Women. The project is aimed at designing the process of social inclusion plan for vulnerable and marginalized communities and mainstreaming sexual workers and sexual minorities in the States of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka.

 

The Government of India received a suggestion for legalizing the profession of flesh trade and for taking concrete steps for the welfare of sex workers and their children.

 

The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 supplemented by Indian Penal Code prohibits trafficking in human beings, including children, for purpose of prostitution and lays down procedures.

 

The Ministry of Women and Child Development is implementing “Ujjawala” – a Comprehensive Scheme for Prevention of Trafficking and Rescue, Rehabilitation, Re-integration and Repatriation of Victims of Trafficking for Commercial Sexual Exploitation. As on date, 273 projects including 151 Protective and Rehabilitative Homes have been supported under the Scheme. These rehabilitative centres are given financial support for providing shelter and basic amenities such as food, clothing, medical care, legal aid, education in the case the victims are children, as well as for undertaking vocational training and income generation activities to provide the victims with alternate livelihood option.

In addition, the Ministry of Women and Children is implementing following schemes for women and children which can be availed by sex workers and their children:

(i)      The Rajiv Gandhi National Crèche Scheme for children of working mothers which provided day care facilities to children (age group 0-6 years) of working mothers belonging to families whose monthly income is not more than Rs.12,000/-.

(ii)    The Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme which provides a package of six services viz. supplementary nutrition, immunization, referral services, health check-up, pre -school education and health and nutrition education to children below six years of age and Pregnant & Lactating Mothers, irrespective of their economic status.

(iii)   The Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS) which has various components including extending emergency outreach services through Childline toll free number 1098, open shelters for children in need in urban and semi urban areas, support for family based non-institutional care through sponsorship, foster care, adoption and after care and institutional care for children and juveniles. It caters to all children in need of care and protection, particularly beggars, street and working children, rag pickers, small vendors, street performers, orphaned, deserted, trafficked and run –away children, children of migrant population and any other vulnerable group of children.

This was stated by Smt. Krishna Tirath, Minister for Women and Child Development, in a written reply to the Lok Sabha today.

 

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MV