In a significant move towards addressing gender stereotypes, the Supreme Court of India has decided to amend the terminology used in its
“Handbook on Combating Gender Stereotypes,”
replacing the term “sex worker” with
“trafficked victim/survivor or woman engaged in commercial sexual activity or woman forced into commercial sexual exploitation.”
This decision follows a request from a coalition of anti-trafficking NGOs, who expressed concerns that the term “sex worker” might inadvertently perpetuate gender stereotypes.
The group of NGOs, operating under the Anti-Human Trafficking Forum, includes organizations such as ARZ (Anyay Rahit Zindagi) from Goa, Prayas from Mumbai, Prerana from Maharashtra, and others. They reached out to Chief Justice of India, Justice DY Chandrachud, urging a reconsideration of the term used in the handbook, which was published in August 2023. The NGOs argued that the term “sex worker” might imply that all women engaged in commercial sexual activity do so out of free and positive choice, ignoring the reality that many are forced, kidnapped, lured, or trafficked.
Anurag Bhaskar, Deputy Registrar, CRP, Supreme Court of India, confirmed in an email to ARZ that the Chief Justice had accepted the change.
“Based on your suggestion, the nomenclature/word ‘sex worker’ is being changed to the following: ‘Trafficked victim/survivor or woman engaged in commercial sexual activity or woman forced into commercial sexual exploitation’,”
the email stated, with the amendment to be added soon to the handbook.
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The handbook, released in August, aims to break stereotypes and common assumptions about women and gender-based minorities. In the foreword, Chief Justice Chandrachud emphasized the judiciary’s role in setting aside pre-conceived notions that reinforce harmful stereotypes. He highlighted the importance of language in judicial discourse and its impact on the law’s application to women, stating,
“Where the language of judicial discourse reflects antiquated or incorrect ideas about women, it inhibits the transformative project of the law and the Constitution of India, which seek to secure equal rights to all persons, irrespective of gender.”
The handbook also addresses the need to change language in pleadings and rulings, drawing parallels to past amendments like changing ‘pauper’ to ‘indigent’ in the Code of Civil Procedure. It asserts that stereotyping language reinforces a culture of apathy, bigotry, and exclusion, and makes specific references to court orders and stereotypes associated with women’s responses to rape or sexual assault, including the problematic assumption that women are likely to make false allegations.
This amendment by the Supreme Court marks a significant step in recognizing the complexities and realities faced by women in situations of commercial sexual exploitation, moving away from oversimplified and potentially harmful labels.