While the lives of sex workers at Delhi’s GB Road are nothing short of a living hell, what lies between the sheets is a story untold. Moreover, what comes across as worrying fact is that supply of condoms to these poor sex workers from the Delhi State Aids Control Society has been stopped for the last several months, forcing them to purchase condoms on their own. The DCW, however, has demanded a report on current status of supply of condoms to the red light area.
While sex workers are forced to buy condoms from outside, some are unable to purchase condoms on their own which makes the sex workers and others extremely vulnerable to sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Taking cognisance of the matter, Delhi Commission for Women chairperson Swati Maliwal Jaihind wrote to Director of Delhi State Aids Control Organisation seeking a detailed report on the current status of supply of condoms to GB Road by DSACS demanding a reason for the non-supply of condoms for the past several months within a week’s time.
Maliwal also wrote to Union Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi over combating drug trafficking menace. It has come to light that a Central Advisory Committee that was re-formulated in 2013 to look after rehabilitation of girls and women rescued from trafficking units, but not a single meeting has been conducted over the same in the past two years. Maliwal requested Gandhi to look into the issue and convene the first meeting of the committee.
Even after Supreme Court’s order in 2012 to formulate a Coordination Committee to prevent trafficking and carry out rehabilitation of sex workers, the Delhi Government has not yet taken action on the same. Maliwal wrote a letter to Delhi Chief Secretary KK Sharma asking him to reconstitute the Committee with lesser number of officers, to effectively combat trafficking as it will be difficult to get all 25 seniors to meet every month.
“During my visit to GB Road, I discovered that the condition of sex workers there is miserable. Most of the women have been trafficked from various parts of the country and brought to GB Road. A lot needs to be done in terms of combating trafficking, rehabilitation and improving the living conditions of these sex workers,” Maliwal wrote.