16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence is an annual international campaign that runs from 25th November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, till 10 December, Human Rights Day. As part of Prerana’s campaign under 16 Days of Activism, this year we are focusing on understanding domestic violence in the context of victims of sexual violence.

Prerana’s Night Care Centers (NCC) are safe shelters, located in the red-light area. At NCCs, children are provided safe shelter and care so that they are away from the brothels, the red-light areas during the night hours when their mothers are soliciting and are not in a position to provide parental supervision, care, and protection. The NCC provides services such as – safe shelter, wholesome nutrition, education support, safe play options, safe sanitation options, and opportunities for skills development, awareness sessions, and an overall platform for holistic personality development and growth. Through the course of their work, the NCC team often comes across many situations of domestic violence within the community. Ms. Mugdha Dandekar (Project Head, NCC), and Ms. Prachi Naik  (Project Manager, Institutional Placement Programme) shared their observations and experiences on domestic violence within the red-light areas.

Through your work within the red-light areas, what has the experience of the NCC team been regarding domestic violence?

Mugdha: When a woman is brought into the red-light and sold to a brothel keeper, she is subject to violence right from that moment. If she resists her exploitation, she is beaten up, starved, even burnt with cigarette stubs. The violence is perpetrated by the men, as well as the brothel keeper. The admi (fancy man/pimp) exerts a lot of control on the woman and is often violent. I remember a case where a woman managed to escape, tried to get out of the sex trade, changed her phone number, and but the admi found her and brought her back.

The women face a lot of violence but often do not talk about it. We ask them when we see bruises on their bodies, and faces, to which they say “Seedhi se gir gayi” (I fell down the stairs). When we persist, they share that they were beaten up by the admi. They say “ Kya karein didi, admi haina toh marta hai” (What can I do, didi? He is a man so he beats me). ‘

Prachi: Children also suffer violence at the hands of the pimps. I remember we had this case a few years ago, where the admi would beat the child a lot. The child used to come to the Night Care Center and asked us to help. He wanted to be placed in a child care institution. When the mother got to know, she was not supportive of the child and seemed quite angry at the child wanting to be placed at a shelter home. Few days after the child was placed at the child care institution, she visited us and told us that she wanted the best for her child but was afraid of her admi and hence, objected in front of him. 

What is the role of the admi (pimp) in the woman’s life in the red-light area?

Mugdha: The influence and fear of the admi are so high that we have come across instances where mothers allow the admi to take all decisions related to the children. These may not even be the biological children of the admi who is controlling the woman. He controls every aspect of the woman’s life. When Prerana started working in these red-light areas, mothers were largely absent from the decisions about her child. It was mostly the brothel-keeper or the pimp whom many women refer to as admi, who would be at the front. We insisted that we would only interact with the mother, and continue to do so. Even now when women come to the Center, the admi may follow them to check their whereabouts and ensure that they do not run away. The admi also checks her phone, to keep a tab on her communication.

Prachi: The admi acts like a pimp and also provides the illusion of security. If we go for outreach visits to meet the mothers, the admis tend to linger around to monitor our conversations. The emotional violence that the women face is very high. If you ask a woman in the community if she faces violence by the pimp and the brothel keeper, it is unlikely that she will tell you the truth initially. Gradually, as we build a relationship with them, they open up. I remember a case where a woman was eight months pregnant and was forced to solicit by the brothel keeper. She gave in, but the customer did not seem satisfied. He, along with the brothel keeper, started beating the woman. They beat her so badly that she had a miscarriage and the child was born dead. The women hardly have any say in soliciting even if they are menstruating or pregnant. 

When women face violence, are they able to seek help and medical attention?

Mugdha: The OPDs in most hospitals function during the morning, and the women in the sex trade are active in the latter part of the day. We have observed that most of the time women are subjected to physical assault in the evening. It could be over the tip given by the customer, to the admi accusing her of being  ‘over flirtatious’, not showing the required ‘frivolous’ behavior while soliciting. If the assault has resulted in severe harm, they are not taken to public hospitals. There is also the fear that it would result in the matter being reported to the police. Apart from this, they often go to local private doctors or quacks to seek treatment. Sometimes the brothel keeper also takes them to the doctor. However, she does it because she needs the women to earn, which they won’t be able to do if they are hurt. The brothel keeper does not pay for the treatment. If the woman does not have the money, the brothel keeper lends the money and further adds to the debt of the woman. Violence has consequences for women in the red-light area, beyond physical and emotional harm.

Do you think that women in the red-light areas are missing from the discourse of domestic violence?

Mugdha: When we look at situations of women facing domestic violence, a key step is to make them financially independent to reduce their dependence on the partner so they can manage their life on their own. When it comes to women in the red-light areas, there is an ill-informed perception that they have a lot of money and are financially independent. The reality is far from it. There is indebtedness to local money lenders. The women are not literate and often do not know how much they owe the money lenders. Amid COVID-19 induced lockdown, many of them owe nearly 60 thousand in rent to their brothel keepers.

There is a refusal to accept the violence that they face as a violation because of their being in the sex trade. I come across people talking about the ‘legalization’ of the sex trade but I hear few voices talk about the violence in the sex trade. 

Prachi: Even if the woman manages to have savings, she sometimes gives it away to the admi if she feels he needs it. In a recent case amid the lockdown, one of the women was helping her admi start his own business. He was not quite aware of how much savings she had till then but when he got to know that she had money to spare, he started beating her up to seek more money. 

Mugdha: Previously also, one woman was extorted by her admi into paying him 1.5 lac rupees to see her son, that he had kept away from her. Financial independence is not a reality for the women in the red-light area, and the current circumstances have made this problem worse manifold.

How do you think we can work for the better?

Mugdha: Women do not report for many reasons, and one reason is also a certain level of attachment to the admi. They say “Mera admi haina, jane do” (He is my admi, let it be). There is a need for repeated discourse with the women in the community on the importance of reporting violence. We can assist them when they consent to file a complaint.

Prachi: It would help if there were organizations and legal aid clinics that would actively work on the issues of domestic violence within the red-light areas. We have many organizations who exclusively cater to their medical needs, child protection, perhaps we need such initiatives to tackle violence within the community too.