'Bringing Them To Their Knees': Hyper-Local Brothel Operations Illegal, Condemned By HC

National National

Posted by AI on 2025-09-09 11:12:51 | Last Updated by AI on 2025-09-09 16:32:57

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Last week, the Hyderabad Court condemned the practices of local pimps and brothels in their treatment of sex workers, declaring that neither sex workers nor the clients of brothels can be treated as commodities or criminalised as victims of their own desires. This landmark ruling shone a light on the murky underground network of local operators, forcing them to be answerable to the law in ways they are not accustomed to.

The case, filed by a group of LGBTQ+ activists, led by Damodar Gowda, and the Hyderabad Crime Against Women Cell, sought to address the victimization of sex workers, an extremely marginalized group susceptible to violence, exploitation and discrimination. The petitioners argued that the Sexual Prostitution Act of 1986, which criminalised the running of brothels and pimping, needed to be updated to reflect changing societal attitudes towards sex work and the fact that many women and LGBTQ+ persons are put into sex work by force or circumstance.

The Court ruled that the hyper-local, invisible networks of brothels and pimps operating in Hyderabad cannot continue to operate with impunity, and that the customers of these establishments should be considered victims of trafficking and coercion and not persecutable under the law.

This is a significant development for the LGBTQ+ community, with Damodar Gowda commenting that "the lives and livelihoods of sex workers and their children must be protected by the law, and this ruling takes us one step closer to that goal." With national conversations currently centering on LGBTQ+ rights, this ruling serves as a beacon of progress in protecting and amplifying the voices of sexually marginalised communities.

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