The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : `Police violence on the rise despite appeals'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Aug 19, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

`Police violence on the rise despite appeals'

By Our Staff Reporter

CHENNAI, AUG. 18. Tamil Nadu should follow the example set by Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, which have recognised women engaged in prostitution as victims of sexual exploitation, members of the South India AIDS Action Programme (SIAAP), a non-governmental organisation, said yesterday.

While complaining of arbitrary, unprovoked police harassment, sex workers expressed the hope that the Government would educate the personnel to end the violence. With one voice, the sex workers from all over the State also called for an end to the organised nexus among traffickers, pimps and brothel owners.

Cases of brutality

Addressing mediapersons at a conference organised by the SIAAP here, its programme director, Shyamala Natraj, said despite repeated appeals to the Government, violence was on the rise. A study done in 2000 among women in the State proved beyond doubt that there were a number of cases of police brutality. Volunteers of the SIAAP spoke to 172 women from 13 districts in October 2000.

Nearly 70 per cent of them reported they had been beaten with lathis and logs of wood and kicked by policemen. Some of them reported broken limbs and mutilation of sex organs.

More than 80 per cent of the women said they were arrested on the assumption that they were soliciting in a public place. Nearly 15 per cent said they were arrested because they questioned the policeman's right to beat or abuse them. About 12 per cent complained that they had been forced to vacate their homes following police harassment.

Further, 39 specific cases of harassment, providing details, including the names and designations of the personnel, were documented and forwarded to the Home department.

In 2002, a dharna was held to highlight the issue and a petition handed over to the Home Secretary. Following this came a directive that booking of sex workers routinely under Section 8 of the Immoral Trafficking (Prevention) Act was to be avoided. ``However, the police have paid little heed and have continued harassing and violating the basic rights of the women to practise their profession for livelihood,'' Ms.Natraj said.

Though funds allocation for intervention among this high-risk group was substantial, so far there was only a `health' approach. A rounded, total development approach was required to address the problem effectively.

Ms. Natraj wondered whether increasing violence perpetrated on high-risk groups led to an increased HIV incidence in the country.

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