“Selling sex is said to be the world’s oldest profession. It has been present since the time of Buddha."
Jamie
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Could a new law better protect sex workers?
Phyo Wai Kyaw
Myanmar Times
6 September 2019
It is not easy for [sex workers] to change their lives. If you ask any of them, you will find that none of them started this work out of love or happiness. There are many reasons preventing them from leaving too,” said Daw Khin Cho Win, project manager for Taw Win Pan of Taw Win Kha Yay Network, an organisation created in 2009 to assist sex workers.
Although sex workers face many hardships, including exposure to sexually transmitted infections, changing their lifestyle is extremely difficult, according to Daw Khin Cho Win.
As part of the 2019-2020 Taw Win Pan project, the network conducts public talks on violence and legal issues affecting sex workers. It also assists sex workers with legal support and prison visits, and seeks to educate brothel owners and managers through vocational training.
Multifaceted violence against prostitutes is deeply embedded in Myanmar, Daw Khin Cho Win said. From clients to pimps, sex workers face many threats with no protection or legal remedy. According to UNAIDS data, there are an estimated of 66,000 sex workers in the country.
“The families of the prostitutes here only find out after they are imprisoned or are HIV-positive. Some family members don’t ask where they get the money from, and live in fear of being shamed or getting arrested. Once they go through the justice system, they are on a black list. Prostitutes are assaulted by their clients as well as their ‘managers’. If the legal fees exceed a certain amount, their pimps don’t want to get them out of jail anymore,” said Daw Khin Cho Win.
Mandalar Yaung Sin, a group working for the reduction of violence against women, added that prostitutes are often at risk of sexual, physical, psychological, economic and cultural violence. Sometimes women are forced into sex or into group sex, may be psychologically abused, threatened and even trafficked.
The law and the sex worker
Sex workers are heavily persecuted by law as prostitution remains illegal in the country. The 1949 Suppression of Prostitution Act, amended in 1998, criminalises the profession. It stipulates that convicted sex workers may face to up to 5 years in prison and a fine. Sex workers rarely report cases of exploitation and abuse, according to a joint study by Care Myanmar and Sex Workers in Myanmar back in 2014.
If the workers are arrested a first time and listed on the black list, the possibility of being arrested again increases, added Daw Khin Cho Win. Most prostitutes said they do not report violence and abuse from their managers, clients, or the police in fear of being arrested.
In Myanmar, poverty is the main driver pushing women toward prostitution. The biggest incentive, said the report, is the need to support their families as most prostitutes are the breadwinners.
“Due to the 1949 Act, there are many who were arrested and detained in jail. This act is outdated. Sex workers are shushed even if they are raped or tortured. There is nowhere for them to seek help. To challenge the legal oppression of prostitutes and to help them to rehabilitate, a new legislation relating to prostitution is being drafted. We are cooperating with the Department of Social Welfare,” said Daw Hnin Hnin Yu from Taw Win Khayay Network.
Drafting of the new law began in early 2018 and is now under review at the Attorney General’s Office, she said. It includes more than 40 chapters and negotiations are currently underway with relevant legislative departments, which will publish their feedback soon.
“We want this job to be recognised even though it’s not currently legal. The prostitutes in Thailand have their official access to medical care, although their work is not legal. They have the right to make a complaint. I’ve studied it in Chiang Mai. They have free access to medical care at healthcare centres. In our country, although there is an official directive not to arrest them if they use condoms, there are times prostitutes still get arrested with condoms,” said Daw Hnin Hnin Yu.
Although prostitution would remain illegal under the new law, it would guarantee better protection and recognition, enabling sex workers to voice complaints about any wrongful acts, she added.
“The act of re-drafting the law is not about legalising prostitution; it’s only about creating better working conditions for the women,” said Daw Khin Cho Win, manager of the Royal Flower Plan. “The law should be there to protect them. I think it’s necessary for them to have a systematic payment system and a secure place. We are not demanding an official license for them. We should bear in mind that prostitution will never go away.”
Under the new draft law, sex workers would not be sent to jail if they are arrested for the first time and could be released by signing a pledge. According to Daw Hnin Hnin Yu, They would still be liable to pay a fine and, upon the second arrest, would be sent to the Department of Social Welfare to follow vocational training courses.
“Selling sex is said to be the world’s oldest profession. It has been present since the time of Buddha. Despite its prevalence in every society, solving problems that surround the profession is not easy. In public, no one says prostitution is good. But talking ill and making it invisible will not help. So, whatever else can be done needs to be considered,” added Dr. Htay Maung, from Mandalar Yaung Sin.
https://www.mmtimes.com/news/could-new-law-better-protect-sex-workers.html
