Singh告诉记者，在巴特那，这项举措旨在帮助性工作者进入社会主流，给他们一定的社会地位，并提高他们的生活标准。这是政府最近改革措施的一部分。

　　目前印度大约有数名百万的性工作者，而几乎有一半的人生活在人道标准之下。

　　尽管在印度，从学术上卖淫本身不是犯罪，但是那些组织妇女卖淫、拉皮条、倒卖妓女才是犯罪。

　　目前已经很多国家把性工作者定为合法，不仅是把它合法化，而且做为一项措施长期执行，以保护性工作者和顾客的性安全。

　　一个关于性工作者的非政府组织对这项提案表示支持。他们认为，这项提案将会使此类交易处于合法化，并可以减少由于这类交易带来的羞耻感。

Indian Government considers licences for prostitutes

June 19, 2004

The Central Government of India is considering a proposal to introduce licences for sex workers in the country, Union Minister of State for Human Resources Kanti Singh said on Tuesday.

Singh told reporters in Patna that the move is part of the measures contemplated by the government to bring sex workers into the social mainstream and improve their standard of living by giving them a formal status.

There are nearly two million sex workers in India, almost half a million of them living in subhuman conditions.

Technically, prostitution itself is not a crime in India, though soliciting for clients, advertising prostitution, living off the earnings of prostitutes, recruiting prostitutes, or trafficking in women are crimes.

There are many countries which have accorded legal sanction to prostitution, not only to bring it under the purview of rules, but to also play a more proactive part in enforcing safe sex for the benefit of both the prostitute and the client, and by extension the client's family.

Non-governmental organisations working with prostitutes strongly feel that licences will give the trade a formal status and help remove the stigma associated with it.