Non-Governmental Organisations working in areas of sex trafficking, commercial sexual exploitation and women forced into prostitution, based in Andhra Pradesh, have urged the State government to provide ₹5,000 monthly assistance to sex workers.
Vimukthi and Indian Leadership Forum Against Trafficking (ILFAT), a national platform formed by survivors of human trafficking, said that the Government of Andhra Pradesh has already announced free ration distribution to sex workers who are participating in the activities under Andhra Pradesh State AIDS Control Society.
The Supreme Court of India has instructed the State Governments to distribute free ration to sex workers along with the benefits provided to all other categories of beneficiaries during the lockdown under COVID relief support services.
The NGOs said that the Maharashtra government has already been distributing dry ration to all sex workers along with ₹5,000 monthly cash transfer for three months right from October to December 2020 through the Department of Women Development and Child Welfare.
Simultaneously, it is distributing ₹2,500 to schoolgoing children of sex workers for which ₹52 crore has been released from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.
The NGOs also requested the State government to support the education of children of sex workers that helps them to avoid this profession and live a life of dignity, enjoying their child rights similar to the support provided by the Maharashtra government with ₹2,500 to the children of sex workers in their State.
