The Pulse | Society | South Asia

A Judicial Challenge to India’s Paternalistic Anti-trafficking Framework

The Supreme Court distinguishes trafficking from voluntary adult sex work, but legislative reform and effective implementation remain essential to protect dignity and autonomy.

For decades, India’s anti-trafficking framework has rested on a flawed assumption: that trafficking and prostitution are essentially the same thing. As a result, women trafficked through force or deception, women who remained in prostitution after being trafficked, and adults who say they engage in sex work voluntarily have often been put through the same legal process. The law has frequently failed to distinguish exploitation from agency.

In Prajwala v Union of India (2026), decided on May 29, 2026, by a bench of justices – J. B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan – the Supreme Court has attempted to address this problem. The judgment, arising from a petition pending since 2004, lays down a detailed Victim Protection Plan, calls for a comprehensive anti-trafficking law, and, most importantly, recognizes that the existing framework inadequately separates trafficking from voluntary adult sex work. The distinction may seem obvious, but Indian law has struggled with it for decades.

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For decades, India’s anti-trafficking framework has rested on a flawed assumption: that trafficking and prostitution are essentially the same thing. As a result, women trafficked through force or deception, women who remained in prostitution after being trafficked, and adults who say they engage in sex work........

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