KOZHIKODE: The rehabilitation of young sex workers in the state under the Targeted Intervention (TI) project of the Kerala State Aids Control Society (KSACS) has failed, as a majority of the women do not want to give up the substantial earnings they make from prostitution. The rehabilitation centres set up in all districts — except in Thiruvananthapuram and Ernakulam — have been shut due to the failure of the mission.
According to project joint director Dennis Joseph, the project failed among the younger age groups because they were not willing to give up prostitution which was more lucrative.
“Some of them earn a lot of money through prostitution,” he said. “They don’t want to be rehabilitated as their income was then much less.” Post-rehabilitation, the women were provided with work like paper-bag making, waste collection and vegetable sales which offers only a paltry Rs 250 per day. However, the officers say the rehabilitation mission was a success among sex workers aged over 40.
“We rolled out a variety of projects with the help of local bodies and NGOs. Many of the inmates of Swanthanam, a home for the rehabilitated in Ernakulam, are now completely rehabilitated and engaged in various activities,” he said. The TI project was conceived to reduce the rate of prevalence of HIV transmission, and at least this seems to have worked.
According to the latest data available with KSACS, the rate of HIV infected persons in the state has reduced to 0.7 per cent from 1.7 per cent in the last 15 years. “This evidence shows the project to reduce HIV prevalence is a success in the state,” said Dennis.The project is currently being implemented among about 15,000 sex workers, though the total number engaged in prostitution is much higher and not yet ascertained. “We have 20 centres working for this group in the state,” he said, adding the majority of sex workers are based in Ernakulam, Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode.
He said the centres identify sex workers through people who work with them. “The challenges are more now as many of them deal with their clients through WhatsApp and other communication modes. It’s hard to see sex workers in public places these days as they operate clandestinely through agents,” he said. The project is spending about Rs 26 crore annually to prevent the spread of HIV and AIDS.