From Legal Information to Knowledge

Male Prostitution- Grokking the unintelligible.

Prostitution is one of the oldest professions in the world. It is a deplorable state of affairs where one person offers sexual intercourse to another for money. Although prostitution of women is a well recognized issue, the participation of men in this system is no new development. The reason the term ‘system’ has been used for referring to prostitution is that it is not a solitarily occurring process, which does not manifest itself. In fact, in most cities in India, prostitution is very much present, in some form or the other. It may interest the reader to know that in the entire Indian sub-continent, it is estimated that there are more than 2 million people involved in prostitution, 30 per cent of whom are believed to be girls. Concentrated in so called ‘red light’ areas, the brothels in India house between 2,70,000 and 4,00,000 children. Although the exact figure may never be known, it is clear that many children are being sexually exploited in India, with about 20 percent being brought in from Nepal. From the ‘devdasis’ in ancient India to the ‘nautch’ dancers in the British era, the form in which prostitution has been showcasing itself is diverse, the recent trend being those of ‘masseurs’. But one thing is for sure, prostitution is an inevitable depravity which will only continue to grow, if nothing is done to check it. If women and children were not enough, even men, now, are tramping into prostitution. And the trouble is that they are not just offering their services to rich affluent women.

The acceptability of homosexuality in Indian morality is a debatable question, but is prostitution too? What about homosexuals indulging in prostitution? But in spite of the disparaging attitude that people in India have of them, the fact remains that they are very much in business. Male sex workers, also known as ‘Gigolos’ are on a growing presence in India. In Delhi alone, there are as many as twenty “agencies” offering “handsome masseurs” in the classifieds of the newspapers. They offer both in and out services, although the facilities are usually very basic. Local middle class Indians are also now using these services. Fees are discussed over the phone, typically 1000 – 3000 Rs. Large percentage of male sex workers are eunuchs. Although the profession does not have official sanction, little effort is made to stamp regulate it. Sonagachi in Kolkata, Kamathipura in Mumbai, G.B. Road in New Delhi, Reshampura in Gwalior, Budhwar Peth in Pune, Dalmandi in Varanasi, Naqqasa Bazaar in Saharanpur host thousands of sex workers in India.

II. History.

There are many illustrations which pinpoint the existence of prostitution way back in time. It was revered highly among Sumerians and Babylonians. In ancient sources (Herodotus, Thucydides) there are many traces of hieros gamos, starting perhaps with Babylon, where each woman had to reach, once a year, the sanctuary of Militta (Aphrodite or Nana/Anahita), and there have sex with a foreigner, as a sign of hospitality, for a symbolic price.

A similar type of prostitution was practiced in Cyprus (Paphos) and in Corinth, Greece, where the temple counted more than a thousand prostitutes (hyerodules), according to Strabo. It was widely in use in Sardinia and in some of the Phoenician cultures, usually in honour of the goddess ‘Ashtart. Presumably by the Phoenicians, this practice was developed in other ports of the Mediterranean Sea, like in Erice (Sicily), in Locri Epizephiri, Crotone, Rossano Vaglio, Sicca Veneria and other towns. Other hypotheses regard Asia Minor, Lydia, Syria and Etruscans.

According to the Bible, the Canaanite peoples had a system of religious prostitution. This is seen, for example, in Genesis 38:21, where Judah asks Canaanite men of Adulam “Where is the harlot, that was openly by the way side?”

III. Legal Position in India and other countries

Prostitution means the sexual exploitation or abuse of persons for commercial purposes, and the expression ‘prostitute’ shall be construed accordingly. Thus prostitution is not confined to the act of a female offering her body for hire, but includes sexual exploitation or abuse of a male, female or a child for commercial purposes. In order to constitute prostitution, the act of the female (or person, emphasis added) must be an act of offering her body for promiscuous sexual intercourse and that this must be for some consideration or hire, whether in money or in kind. Besides the provisions in the Indian Penal Code relating to child prostitution, the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act 1986 was enacted for the prevention of immoral traffic. All persons, whether male or female who are exploited sexually for commercial purposes, fall under the purview of the Act. The Act also distinguishes between ‘child’ and ‘minor’, a child being below 16 whereas a minor is between 16 and 18 years of age. Offenses under the Act which involve children are dealt with very strictly by enhancing the period of imprisonment which the offender would have incurred had the victim been an adult. The laws regarding prostitution in India do not make any distinction, as far as punishment is concerned, between the giver or receiver of a person under eighteen years for an immoral purpose. A person who lives on the earnings of the prostitution of any other person may be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years or/and with fine which may extend to Rs 1000. The provider of a minor for the purpose of prostitution may be imprisoned for a term which may extend to ten years and shall also be liable to fine. The dedication of minors to the service of a temple as dasis(servants) amounts to a disposal of such minors, knowing it to be likely that they will be used for the purpose of prostitution. The State regulation of Sexuality Continues to generate controversy amongst feminist scholars and activists, criminologists and law-makers. The subject of prostitution has long vexed criminal justice authorities in most other countries throughout the world. Law-makers are faced with the onerous task of attempting to appease the conflicting demands of various segments of society. On the one hand law-makers wish to uphold the principles of a liberal democratic society by allowing consenting adults to freely engage in sexual conduct, while on the other hand they are anxious to consider the demands of residents who object to the ‘nuisance’ aspects of prostitution, as well as those who object to prostitution on religious, moral or other grounds. Prostitution in countries like Iran, Egypt and Thailand is expressly declared illegal. Whereas in countries like Argentina, Canada, Brazil, Kenya, New Zealand, Senegal and the UK, prostitution is not illegal per se but soliciting, abetting, running a brothel and living off the earnings of prostitutes is illegal. On the other hand, in countries like Germany, Australia, Netherlands, Peru, and Turkey prostitution is legal, with a few minor restrictions.

IV. The Issues

Most people, if not all, when they hear the word ‘prostitute’ automatically assume the feminine gender, which is understandable. Unfortunately the development of the arguments for or against prostitution and studies on prostitution have until recently continued on a gender bias, with no concern for men involved in prostitution, either as workers, or more glaringly, as clients. Policies, services, research and rhetoric have chosen to participate in the battle between men (clients, cops) vs. women (prostitutes), instead of looking at prostitution as a ubiquitous ingredient of the human experience.

Eunuchs also indulge in prostitution as they are deprived of any other means of surviving. They are often faced with violence from the police, clients, and are often subjected to extortion from the police in order to carry on with their work.

Most know of sexually transmitted diseases through experience, but there are few preventative measures, such as condoms, that are made available to them and due to their legal status, no regimen of testing for AIDS or other diseases are available.

Where sex work is criminalized, sex workers are much less likely to disclose their occupation when seeing a doctor. Without knowing the occupational risks of a patient, it is hard for doctors to provide good medical care.

The prostitution of males is unrecognized and a taboo subject in Indian societies, and thus, cases involving the sexual exploitation of boys are frequently under-reported and shrouded in silence. A very few programs address the prostitution of males in India because males are perceived as less emotionally or physically harmed by prostitution than girls, and therefore, are seen as not needing special attention and services. Most interventions in India that related to the sexual exploitation of males are focused on HIV/AIDS awareness work. Mass media echoes the same reluctance to explore the male sex worker. How many films can you name involving female sex workers? How many male?

V. Launda Dancers- Indigenous form of MSWs in India.

The Launda dancers of UP and Bihar, who are hired to spice up the entertainment barometer at marriages are the most vulnerable to sexual and physical assaults. These adolescents, generally effeminate males, dance in in marriage procession and ceremonies, dressed in women’s clothing. The dances could start late in the evening and continue non-stop until dawn. As the night progress the songs become risqué, complemented by vulgar and obscene body movements. By this time drunken men at the wedding party hurl abuse at the dancers. Often their backs are slashed with blades, when they are dancing wearing backless ‘cholis’. Often they are bitten and sank or stubbed.

A group of 10 to 15 men could physically carry a dancer to a field and gang rape him, and this is very common trend. They have faced torture all the occasions. Resistance only leads to grater torture and sometimes-even death.

V. Research and Studies- The West

A review of the literature on prostitution in general reveals a paucity of available research on young male prostitutes. Studies in the 1960s and 1970s have focused almost exclusively on adult female prostitution, and adult male prostitution has been the subject of much less research.

Although researchers have categorized their subjects into diverse and heterogeneous groups, which they de­scribed as flexible categories, their impressions remain narrowly focused on pathology without being sensitive to any strengths or survival skills. For example, they saw their subjects as having poor judgment and as suffering from immaturity. In addition, the subjects’ lifestyles are characterized by family rejection and self destructive behaviors. These views were consistent with earlier and contemporary research, which emphasize several similar family characteristics, including a high frequency of broken homes, a lack of affection, and indifferent or hostile mothers, fathers, and stepfathers¹¹. Most of the studies on juvenile prostitutes emphasize that typical male prostitutes are masculine in appearance and that most are not homosexuals. Coombs’ ( 1974) subjects were classi­fied as 6 percent homosexual, 22 percent bisexual, and 72 percent heterosexual. Jersild ( 1956) found only seven subjects classified as homosexual among 300 male prostitutes in Copenhagen. Ginsburg ( 1967) expressed the viewpoint that the homosexual act does not define a person as a homosexual and that most male prostitutes are not homosexuals, although he accepts the possi­bility that some heterosexual prostitutes may drift into homo­ sexuality with continued homosexual experiences. On the other hand, it is incorrect to assume that male prostitutes only have sex with other males for commercial or recreational sex. Many, who are not self-defined as homosexuals, engage in sexual intercourse with women also. In contrast to this definition of male prostitutes as masculine/heterosexual is that of MacNamara ( 1965), who found 31 of 37 subjects “mildly to wildly effeminate” in appearance and mostly homosexual in preference.

In reviewing the literature on motivating factors leading to prostitution, the majority of the researchers agree on the deprived background. They do not all agree, however, on the other moti­vating factors leading to male prostitution. Jersild ( 1956) con­cluded that these factors are poor background and chance. Craft ( 1966), whose study included a number of sons of prostitute mothers, felt that parental attitudes and behavior were of prime importance in preparing a child for misconduct and motivating him to seek affection and money through prostitution. MacNamara ( 1965), who found no evidence for psychopath­ology, described the motivation as primarily socioeconomic as subjects felt they had “nothing else saleable.”

Sutherland and Cressey’s Differential Association theory identifies how most of these hustlers come to engage in street prostitution. They learn about this activity from friends who provide them with the techniques, motives, and rationalizations necessary to complete the deviant act.

VI (i) Understanding the relationship between male prostitution and personality development.

This is one of the many studies done by western researchers tracing the development and behavioral changes among MSW’s.

Twenty male prostitutes ranging in age from 19 years to 29 years were selected from the Hollywood area. Only those volunteering to be interviewed were used as subjects. A structured interview was constructed that allowed the investigator to study the personality development of each male prostitute. Some of the data obtained was easily coded. For example, age, years of schooling, years as male prostitute; other data was easily transformed into percentages. Clinical description of early parent-child relationships was obtained in most cases. The case descriptions were given to two psychiatric residents. They read each case description and then independently placed each into discrete categories. The categories were constructed to measure the degree to which the parent-child relationships were reported by the male prostitute.

Results. The results indicated that 19 fathers were in the categories of detached, absent, weak and inadequate, or unknown. One father was in the category of close- binding. On the other hand, 17 out of 20 mothers were in the categories of close-binding intimate or controlling- dominating. The other 3 mothers were all seen as detached.

The study also revealed the following results: 96 percent of the subjects reported having unhappy childhoods; 4 percent of the subjects described their childhood as satisfactory. A “lone wolf” pattern of childhood behavior was noted in 86 percent of the subjects. Seventy-eight percent of the subjects reported having had a good education during childhood. Ninety percent of the subjects reported no incidence of seduction in childhood. The mean income as a prostitute was $8,900 per year. The mean working hours was seventeen hours per week. Ninety percent of the subjects had never experienced full or part-time employment. None of the subjects had attempted suicide. Twenty percent of the subjects reported being addicted to LSD, heroin, or alcohol. Forty percent were involved in offenses such as robbery or violence. All subjects were involved in self- masturbation. Ninety percent of the subjects indicated discomfort in pursuing their current profession.

VI (ii) MSW’s in India and Australia: a comparison.

Note: The comparison was done using information published in the study Dancing Boys: Traditional prostitution of Young males in India conducted by PLUS, Kolkata and a ‘Commercial Sex Between Men: A Prospective Diary-Based Study - Statistical Data Included’ based in Australia.

The age group of MSW’s in India generally seen to be between 15 to 26 years. Out of the 400 respondents 30% are in the age group of 15-19, 69.5% are between 20-26. Mean age is 20. Whereas their Australian coevals ranged from 18-58 years with 46.1% younger than 25 years of age (mean age 27.06).

As far as the levels of education are concerned in the Indian study, 29% are illiterate (n= 400) and 7.25% are just literate. On the other hand, among the Australian group, the majority (69.2%0) had completed secondary education, and 39% had at least some additional tertiary education.

Table showing substance abuse in Indian group.

In the Australian study, MSWs reported that in 18.2% of the encounters clients had consumed alcohol, and that in 9.7% of the encounters they had consumed alcohol themselves before the encounters. In contrast, use of other drugs by clients before the encounter was much less common. MSWs reported that in only 6% of the encounters did they believe the clients had used marijuana, and that less than 1% used heroin prior to the encounter. However, they were more likely to report using drugs before the encounter themselves; in 20.7% of the encounters they reported using marijuana, and 6.8% used heroin before the encounter.

V(ii) (a) Safe sex.

To ensure 100% condom usage for penetrative sex is the most reliable achievement for prevention of STD/HIV. It was however seen in the Indian study that the knowledge and perception about condom, usage of condoms is low. 94.5%(n=378) have heard about condom but 8.5%(n=34) use condoms consistently in anal penetrative sex, 26% (n=104) said they sometimes use condoms, 33.5%(n=134) said they rarely use and 32%(n=128) said they never use condoms. About the availability of condoms 41.5%(n=166) reported they do not get condom every time they want.

As against the Indians, the majority of the commercial sex encounters(70.4%) in case of the Australians fell into the safer-sex category, 18.3% were in the probably safe/uncertain category, and only 8.3% of the sex encounters were in the unsafe category (defined as unprotected anal sex). Request for unsafe sex was an isolated event (only 7% of the encounters). Additionally, about 3% of the encounters were in the non-risk category. An analysis of these results using MIXREG revealed that there were no significant differences by location or by source of client.

VII. Protection and welfare to children of prostitutes.

The Supreme Court of India held in a public interest litigation that all the state governments must set up advisory committees with experts from all fields to make suggestions regarding measures for eradicating child prostitution, care and rehabilitation of rescued girls, setting up of rehabilitative homes and a survey of the Devdasi and Jogan tradition. Child prostitutes and children of prostitutes are to be treated as ‘neglected juveniles’ as defined in the Juvenile Justice Act 1986 and no stigma should be attached to them.

VIII. What needs to be done?

Clearly, the issue of unsafe migration, sexual exploitation of young gender variant males is serious one that has not received the adequate attention. The national, state and local governments and NGOs must recognize the issue and allot the necessary resources to tackle it. Measures should include the creation of services for boys vulnerable to prostitution, or engaged in prostitution, unsafe migration and sexual exploitation with particular focus on unsafe castration including short-term re-ability cum shelter home and HIV/AIDS prevention projects. Governments and NGOs also need to establish a network to help identify and counsel vulnerable children. Peer educators need to be trained and deployed as part of efforts to reach boys vulnerable and involved in prostitution. Finally, NGOs and government officials must take steps towards preventing other children from falling prey to sexual exploitation, including sexual health education, vocational training and micro-financing.