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Advocating Sex Workers’ Rights by Identity-Based Associations in Nepal

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 June 2020

Masako TANAKA
Masako TANAKA*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Global Studies, Sophia University
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Abstract

There is no specific law in Nepal that directly criminalizes sex work. However, many sex workers have experienced arbitrary detention by law-enforcement authorities. The Human Trafficking and Transportation (Control) Act, 2007 (HTTCA) criminalizes pimps and clients, but not sex workers directly. However, the Act was overinclusive and often criminalized women engaged in voluntary sex work. The new Criminal (Code) Act 2017 criminalizes advertising and providing facilities for sex work in the section concerning crimes against the public good. These laws are used to prosecute sex workers. Two identity-based associations (IBAs) emphasize the importance of decriminalization, but do not support the legalization of sex work. A licensing system, if introduced under legalization, may exclude the most vulnerable sex workers, including housewives, migrants, and sexual minorities, who are secretly engaged in the business. I conclude that ongoing advocacy of IBAs should seek to provide safe working environments for sex workers in Nepal.

Keywords

sex workgenderhuman traffickingcommunity-based organizationidentity-based associationNepal
Type
Sex Work in Asia
Information
Asian Journal of Law and Society , Volume 7 , Issue 2 , June 2020 , pp. 265 - 274
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press and KoGuan Law School, Shanghai Jiao Tong University 2020

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Footnotes

•

The author thanks Dr Lynette Chua, chair and discussant of the panel, and Prof. Dr Hiroshi Fukurai, president of the ALSA, for their suggestions and encouragement during the research. The author also would like to thank the members and staff of the Jagriti Mahila Maha Sanga (JMMS) and the Blue Diamond Society (BDS) for their patience in sharing their experiences and extends special thanks to Ms Shanti Tiwari, Senior Programme Officer of the JMMS, and Ms Manisha Dhakal, Executive Director of the BDS, for their guidance during research in Nepal. The author appreciates their generosity and continuous support in replying to the endless enquiries and thanks Enago for English-language editing.

*

Professor of Development Studies at Sophia University in Japan and teacher of Gender and Development and South Asian Studies at Sophia University in Japan. As a practitioner and activist, the author has been involved in various civil-society movements both in Japan and in Nepal. Her research includes migrants and trafficking survivors, and the roles of their own organizations in the social-integration process. Correspondence to Masako Tanaka, Faculty of Global Studies, Sophia University, 7–1 Kioi-cho, Chiyoda-ku, 102–8554, Tokyo, Japan. E-mail address: masakotanakajp@gmail.com.

References

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