A group of women who have taken to household industries, after giving up sex work, are up in arms against the State government for the delay in releasing money for their job as peer group workers for the Karnataka State AIDS Prevention Society (KSAPS).
After giving up sex work, they worked for the society under its Targeted Intervention (Female Sex Workers) programme, which involves spreading awareness among sex workers on avoiding the spread of HIV/AIDS infection and distributing condoms.
They took up the project from KSAPS and worked in 2015-16 under the banner of the Yashaswini Mahila Shreyabhivruddi Seva Samsthe. More recently, they have started household industries.
Half payment
A former sex worker told The Hindu that women worked in all taluks of the district for the society. “Of the total grant of ₹15 lakh in 2015-16, we got half payment in two instalments after submitting our audit report and other documents. However, the remaining ₹7.45 lakh has not been released so far, even after repeated appeals,” she said.
Now the group has taken up production of phenyl, soap water and herbal sanitiser. More than 50 women spread across the district are involved in the household industry. “We are struggling to earn money sufficient to fulfil our basic needs,” she said.
The organisation had approached Hassan district administration with their plea. Hassan Deputy Commissioner R. Girish also wrote to KSAPS on their request.
‘Contacted officers’
Rupa Hassan, a writer, who worked as a member of the committee set up by the State government to submit a report on rehabilitation of sex workers, told this correspondent that she too had contacted several senior officers to get the funds released. “During our visits to district centres as part of the committee, we could understand that the total due to be paid for such workers across the State would be around ₹10 crore,” she said.
The writer also came down heavily on the KSAPS for making the women distribute condoms.
“It is an inhuman act. The society should stop it immediately. It should concentrate on spreading awareness among the women, forced into the field, on the spread of HIV infection and also encourage those women willing to get out of this profession. If at all the distribution of condoms cannot be stopped, let it install condom-vending machines,” she said.
The women, even after submitting requests in writing, tried to contact KSAPS officers over the phone, but there has been no response.
