Abstract
Originally phrased as the Suppression of Immoral Traffic in Women and Girls Act, 1956 (SITA), to prevent trafficking for sexual exploitation, this law has undergone many changes. In 1986 the Act was amended and rephrased as the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act (ITPA). The Act and amendments made from time to time have failed to achieve its objective. Now the union government is proposing to bring in some more amendments and the cabinet has assented to the same. The most contentious provision of the proposed amendment is the penalization of a client found in a brothel with the intention of exploiting a trafficked victim. Sex workers have been raising their voice against this provision as they fear that it will adversely affect their profession and put them in a situation where they cannot negotiate for safer sex practices. Furthermore, the proposed amendments are at odds with government-run HIV/AIDS intervention programmes.
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