Special mention for sex workers’ children in RTE Act

The state government has decided to make ‘special’ mention of the children of sex workers in the Right to Education (RTE) Act. This is done with the intention of ensuring that these children, among the most marginalised and also the most likely to be denied admission to school, have access to free, compulsory and quality education, as providedunder the RTE Act.

“The RTE Act talks of children of disadvantaged and marginalised sections of society. We’re going to include children of sex workers in the draft rules of the Act in the state,” Prabha Alexander, junior programme officer, state project office, Sarva Shiskha Abhiyan, Bangalore, said, adding that this mention in the Karnataka Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Rules, 2010, would help end the discrimination that these children face, and ease the stigma attached to them.

Karnataka Sex Workers’ Union (KSWU), a 750-member strong group consisting of sex workers, which was formed in 2006, and Sangama, an NGO working for the betterment of sexual minorities and sex workers, will soon meet Karnataka’s primary and secondary education minister, Vishveshwar Hedge Kageri, in this connection.

Sabita S, secretary, KSWU, said, “We’ll raise our demand to make appropriate mention of children of sex workers in the RTE Act. Our children are among the most discriminated, with little access to schooling.”

Geetha, president of KSWU, stressed the need for education of the children of sex workers, so that they could escape the vicious cycle of poverty. “We are poor, and can barely afford to educate our children. And when we try to get our children admitted to school, most schools just shut their doors on us. Even if somehow admission is gained, once the school authorities learn about what we do for a living, they throw our children out,” said Geetha.

On an average, KSWU gets about 80-90 complaints each year, about children of sex workers being denied access to education.
Elavarthi Manohar, who works with Sangama, said, “Most sex workers are single parents. The work they do is done so that their children get the skills needed for a life of dignity. It’s gross injustice to deny these children education. They too deserve free, compulsory education of a good quality,” said Manohar.