NEW DELHI: The legal definition of ‘sexual exploitation’ could be expanded to include portrayal of women in a sexual manner in newspapers, television channels and websites, a step that could bring a paradigm shift in the visual and graphical representation of women in media.

National Legal Services Authority (Nalsa) submitted a report to the Supreme Court with a recommendation for expansion of the definition of ‘sexual exploitation’, saying the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act enacted more than half a century ago to stop trafficking of women for prostitution had miserably failed to achieve the purpose.

The 1956 Act defined ‘prostitution’ as sexual exploitation or abuse of persons for commercial purposes or for consideration in money or in any other kind’. Petitioner NGO ‘Prajwala’ had drawn the court’s attention to rampant trafficking of women still taking place with impunity, especially from poorer states.

On the directions of the SC, Nalsa conducted a wide-ranging study and came back with several suggestions and recommendations. It suggested that the SC recommend to the legislature to define ‘sexual exploitation’ afresh to plug the loopholes in the 1956 law, enacted in pursuance of an international convention signed at New York on May 9, 1950 for prevention of immoral trafficking.

Till the legislature frames a new definition, the SC could amplify the ambit of ‘sexual exploitation’ to include “a situation where a person under coercion and absence of free will is used or abused, or explicitly portrayed, either physically or through media (print, electronic and internet) in a sexual manner, for the benefit of another person, either through monetary gains, or compensation, of favours, or any other arrangement, causing unlawful gain as a result of such act to any person and includes brokering relationships that are coerced”.

Additional solicitor general Neraj Kishan Kaul told a bench of Justices A R Dave, Madan Lokur and Kurian Joseph that the Centre had examined Nalsa’s recommendations and was “in agreement with most of them”.

Kaul said the Central Advisory Committee would meet to discuss the issue on September 3. The bench wanted to know how many states were participating in the meeting. When Kaul said seven states, the court directed secretaries concerned of all states to participate in the meeting called to devise ways and means to stop trafficking of people.

It asked the Centre to file an affidavit detailing its stand and also submit the minutes of the September 3 meeting on or before October 13. Appearing for NGO ‘Prajwala’, senior advocate Dushyant Dave told the court that more than 2.5 lakh women were trafficked every year for prostitution and the time had come for the SC and the Centre to act decisively.

Appearing for Nalsa, senior advocate Indu Malhotra said the court could direct commencement of a pilot project to see implementation of the recommendations made in the report.

The Nalsa report also recommended setting up of nodal agencies at the national and state levels to monitor various agencies working to stop trafficking of women and children. It also recommended formulating standard operating procedure for the agencies.

“The SC may issue a direction to the central government to set up an organized crime investigation agency in order to have cases of human trafficking and organized crime investigated. A committee may be set up by the Centre to work out the modalities to put in place such a specialized agency,” Nalsa said.