- A local report on the status quo of sex workers highlights need to pay attention to addressing challenges in access to edu, welfare, health, justice, workplace/domestic violence, social status
Sex work in Sri Lanka is often perceived as a public health concern, with sex worker population estimates being extrapolated based on available data in the context of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and diseases (STDs) prevention. This public health approach does not provide adequate insight into the life experiences of sex workers in the country, and any discussion on stigma and discrimination in public health contexts focus mainly on accessing testing and treatment services from Government and non-governmental service providers.
Underscoring this, a report on the state of sex workers in Sri Lanka, titled “Status of Sex Workers in Sri Lanka: A National Report 2022-2023” explained that Sri Lanka should go beyond the above-mentioned approach, noting that more attention and actions are needed to empower sex workers. The report, issued by Sex Workers and Allies South Asia – Sri Lanka Chapter and authored by Paba Deshapriya and Dr. Ponni Arasu, looked into the challenges faced by Sri Lankan sex workers in accessing education, welfare, health and justice, and also the violence that they face at work and at home. It was officially launched in Colombo this week. The report was based on a research of a total of 283 interviews, while the collected data was supplemented by written submissions by a panel of experts comprising activists and legal and medical experts.
Understanding the sex workers’ plight
Noting that the key findings of the research provide insights into how stigma, discrimination, and violence pervade every aspect of sex workers’ lives in Sri Lanka, the report said that 125 sex workers had said that they dream of a life without violence while 103 sex workers had said that they dream of a life with social acceptance and respect.
The report said that nearly 50% of the sex workers who were arrested, especially under the Vagrants Ordinance, had been forced, intimidated, or manipulated into pleading guilty by either the Police or by their lawyer, adding that judges are complicit in this illegal practice as they are aware that it happens and do not take any action. As a result of this common practice, it was explained that 85% of those arrested have said that they have always pleaded guilty. Due to this practice, a significant number of sex workers have criminal records which have an impact on future employment, including working overseas as migrant labourers.
Explaining health-related concerns, the report added: “A total of 66% of sex workers who have visited Government STIs clinics reported that they faced some form of verbal abuse. A total of 66% reported that such verbal abuse included comments on their ‘character’, i.e. implying that they are immoral, sinful and ‘bad’ women. A total of 35% received suggestions from STIs clinics staff that they engage in alternative professions based on the assumption that this profession is inherently bad and/or sinful. A total of 83% of the workers said that they have never received contraceptives from the public health midwife (PHM) while 76% of the workers said that a PHM has never visited their home. While 80% of the female sex workers had visited the Government STIs clinics, only 35% of cis-gendered female workers have visited the ‘Suwa Nari – Women’s Wellness Clinics’ at Government hospitals that focus on the overall wellbeing. A total of 91% said that they always use condoms, and of the small number who said that they have not worn condoms at work, 70% said that it was because clients refused to wear a condom.”
The social safety of sex workers is another aspect that had been examined through the research, regarding which the findings showed that sex workers struggle to access Government social safety programmes. For example, 77% of the sex workers had never applied for the Government-provided Samurdhi benefit, while that is primarily due to a combination of a lack of necessary documentation and the social discrimination of sex workers. Of the small number of sex workers who did apply and were denied Samurdhi, 56% had stated that it was because they did not perform sexual favours. The report in this regard said that this practice of sexual bribery is normalised by different State officials, including Police and Samurdhi officers. Meanwhile, the report claimed that 25% of the sex workers had been denied Samurdhi as they did not have access to a permanent address, while 15% of the respondents had said that they did not have other requisite documentation. Around 3% of them had been denied it as they did not have a marriage certificate either because they chose to not get married or had not registered their marriage.
Out of the 88% of sex workers who had attended school, 18% had completed their General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level (O/L) and only 6% had completed the Advanced Level (A/L). Stating that 14% of them had dropped out of school in the Fifth Grade or below, the report stressed that the main reasons for this situation are poverty and social stigma.
Discussing the family responsibilities-related aspect of sex work in Sri Lanka, the report said: “A total of 60% of the workers are sole earning members of their family and 73% are the highest earning or primary earning member of their family. A total of 69% workers showed that they have three or more dependents in the family. A total of 72% said that sex work is a job that they do which feeds their family. It is in this context that 45% of the workers said that their work is never safe, while 23% say that it is mostly unsafe. A total of 66% stated that clients are responsible for them feeling unsafe, followed by 20% each citing hotel owners and law enforcement as responsible for them feeling unsafe. Law enforcement officers being perceived as dangers to personal safety and wellbeing is a significant concern, and data in this study, quantitative and qualitative, are repeatedly indicative of this, thereby suggesting that law enforcement officers need further training and sensitisation to help protect the well-being of citizens who are also sex workers.”
Remedying the situation
To set the above-mentioned situation right, the report presented several recommendations, most of which are the responsibility of the State. Adding that the State must enable broad based awareness programmes within the Police force, beginning from the Police training colleges and extending across to the active Police force at the local and national levels, the report said: “Such programmes must involve dispelling prevalent harmful and judgmental ideas about sex work and go beyond viewing sex workers only as vectors of disease. It is this construct that justifies social stigma and the resultant dehumanising of sex workers through violence and discrimination. Such programmes must include civil society organisations (CSOs) who work with sex workers within a human rights framework, as well as the sex worker leadership of the emerging movement for sex workers’ rights in Sri Lanka. The Police must immediately issue a circular with guidelines that address discrimination and violence faced by sex workers at the hands of law enforcement.”
Concerning awareness, the report recommended that the State must undertake awareness programmes, which include the sex workers leadership of the emerging movement for sex workers’ rights in Sri Lanka, and CSOs that work with sex workers within a human rights framework, within the healthcare system, beginning with Government nursing schools, medical faculties and for all healthcare service providers including doctors, nurses, PHMs, and Public Health Inspectors, among others. In addition, it was noted that these awareness programmes must however not be restricted to STIs but rather address the overall health and well-being of citizens who are sex workers. In this regard, the Ministry of Health was recommended to issue a circular with guidelines that address the discrimination and violence faced by sex workers within the healthcare system.
Several steps concerning the Judiciary and legal reforms were also among the report’s recommendations. The Judiciary was recommended to acknowledge and dispel informal practices of criminalising sex workers when the offences under which they are often brought in are not provable in a court of law, while the Judicial Service Commission was recommended to commission a research study involving experts in the field of sex workers’ rights, the sex worker leadership of the emerging movement for sex workers’ rights in Sri Lanka, and CSOs who work with sex workers within a human rights framework, on the illegal and extra legal practices among lawyers, judges, and the Police with regard to sex work and affirm that the rule of law must be reinstated. Based on this research, it was further recommended that guidelines must be issued to ensure that sex workers are treated as equal to all others before the law and that the due process of the law must be followed. What is more, the Vagrants Ordinance and the Brothels Ordinance, which the report stressed are archaic laws that include vague definitions and non-provable “offences”, was recommended to be removed in their entirety in order to decriminalise sex work in Sri Lanka.
“The State must convene a joint committee with the intent of issuing a joint circular through the Ministries of Health, Justice, Public Administration, Education, Law and Order, and Labour, and the Department for the Registration of Persons among others, acknowledging that those who engage in sex work have been systemically discriminated. For example, the Department of Labour and Labour Relations must ensure the application of all relevant labour laws with regard to wages and workplace safety for sex workers. Any and all guidelines must also stipulate that sex workers are to be treated on par with all those who are recognised as marginalised on the basis of their economic status and should be able to access State services that ensure basic rights to education, health, housing, legal aid, livelihood support, economic assistance (especially during crises), etc. This process must necessarily include the sex workers’ leadership of the emerging movement for sex workers’ rights in Sri Lanka, and CSOs who work with sex workers within a human rights framework.”
Moreover, it was recommended that the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, in collaboration with the sex workers’ leadership of the emerging movement for sex workers’ rights in Sri Lanka, and CSOs who work with sex workers within a human rights framework, guide all other relevant State bodies to recognise sex workers as a group of people whose fundamental rights are consistently denied and issue clear statements and concrete guidelines to redress this. The report further said that CSOs and non-governmental organisations working on the rights of women, children, transgender and queer rights, workers’ rights, health-related rights, economic rights, etc., must include sex workers without prejudice as part of their ongoing work to enable sex workers to participate in the wider human rights movement.