Buying sex could soon be illegal in the country if an amendment proposed by the Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) passes muster.A cabinet note on amendments to the Immoral Trafficking Prevention Act (ITPA), circulated by the government last week, proposes to punish a person visiting a brothel with the purpose of buying sex.The definition of a brothel under IPTA is very wide. It states that not just red light districts but any house, room, conveyance or place where sex is being bought by a "client" is a brothel.Hence, even if a person is caught at his home, in a hotel or in a vehicle with a sex worker he would still be liable for punishment.The proposal comes in the backdrop of the brutal gangrape of a paramedical student in South Delhi on December 16, which triggered nationwide outrage and compelled the government to promulgate an ordinance stipulating stringent punishments for sexual offenders.The UPA government, which was on the receiving end of the protests and the Opposition's onslaught over the gangrape, is trying its best to win public confidence by acting swiftly on issues related to women security.Human trafficking and sex trade, two aspects not entirely covered in the Justice J.S. Verma panel report, have been linked to crime against women in the cabinet note which suggests "clients" visiting brothels be recognised as offenders who, on first conviction, can face a jail term of anything between three months and one year or a fine in the range of Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000 or both.Getting caught the second time would mean a jail term of one to five years and also a fine between Rs 20,000 and Rs 50,000. The ITPA amendments also propose to increase the punishment for maintaining brothels from a jail term of one to three years to three to five years.Although the penalty for first conviction for trafficking remains the same (rigorous imprisonment between three to seven years and a fine of up to `50,000), the government has sought to increase it substantially for second conviction with rigorous imprisonment of seven to 14 years and a fine of up to Rs 2 lakh.Of the proposed changes, the one on punishing clients could run into protests from activists and sex workers on the ground that it would rob the existing sex workers of their source of livelihood.This is the government's second attempt at making buying of sex illegal. In 2006, the WCD ministry had introduced ITPA Amendment Bill in Parliament which, after protests, was referred to a group of ministers (GOM).When the WCD ministry, on receiving the GOM report, sought the approval of the government to re-introduce the Bill with modifications, the proposal was deferred by the government and the Bill lapsed.Starting afresh, the ministry constituted an inter-ministerial group under the chairmanship of additional secretary of WCD ministry, based on whose recommendations the government, once again, proposed amendments to the Act and circulated the same as a cabinet note among different ministries last week.The proposed changes, introduced as Section 5A, define a client as "any person who visits or is found in a brothel for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation of any victim of trafficking".The ministry has justified it saying "as long as demand is not consciously attempted to be reduced, supply for prostitution will continue through various mean of trafficking".The government has apparently drawn from the examples of Nordic countries, particularly Sweden and Norway, which criminalise the purchase of sex but not the sale, in effect recognising that prostitution is a form of violence against women.According to sources in the WCD ministry, the inter-ministerial group did not suggest making buying of sex a criminal offence as it could not reach a consensus during its deliberations.In its recommendations, the inter-ministerial group urged the government to take the final call on the issue.The proposal has drawn mixed reaction from the legal fraternity. Supreme Court lawyer and socio-political activist Meenakshi Lekhi said, "It's exactly what we have been demanding all along. I am glad that the government has started listening to the Opposition. People who are in this trade are basically victims and their exploitation happens at the hands of people who are buying sex. It's an exploitative economy and it should be targeted."Those who opposed the idea feel it would hit the source of income of sex workers."Prostitutes, at this point in time, do not have any legal rights. Hitting their only source of income is only going to make their living condition worse. This is not going to be an effective deterrent for trafficking in the country. The government should actually focus on increasing punishment and conviction rate for trafficking," said Supreme Court advocate Priya Hingorani.According to activists, the Swedish example of criminalising purchase of sex is misleading as sex work might be less visible but it has neither diminished nor effaced there. It has simply gone underground.