Back to CMS main website

Church Mission Society

 

HOME

What's the problem?

What is CMS doing?

What are people saying?

What can you do?


Downloads

Get the t-shirt


Contact us
CMS website



Donate On-line

You can make a credit or debit card donation to the work of CMS by entering the amount you wish to give in the box below. 

Select the 'Donate' button when you are ready to send your gift. You will be transferred to a secure page where you will be asked to enter your credit card details. 

This information will be encrypted and passed securely to WorldPay.

£
please specify.

I want CMS to claim back tax on this gift, any gifts I have made since 24 March 2002, and any future gifts.*

To send gift by credit card,


Registered Charity Number 220297

* You must pay an amount of income tax and/or Capital Gains Tax at least equal to the tax that CMS will reclaim on your donation in the tax year (currently, 28p for each £1 you give).

 

Into the red-light district

Jane Lee, CMS study partner in Bangkok, visits Pune, India.

It’s not yet 11 in the morning, but business in the red light district of Pune is thriving. According to CMS mission partner Dr Lalita Edwards some men come looking for sex as early as 6am. Out goes my Bangkok-formed notion that red light districts come alive only at night.

There are some 6,000 prostitutes in Budhwarpeth, Pune; each brothel houses between 20 and 30 women in dirty, run-down premises.

Two women take me around - both are veterans of the trade and have become sort-of community leaders. They give out free condoms and educate their younger colleagues on sexually transmitted diseases.
Sensing that the sights, sounds and leering stares of the men are overwhelming me, they sandwich me protectively between them.

It’s dark inside because there are no windows. The space has been partitioned into small cubicles – each just big enough for a narrow metal-frame bed. No doors – only a curtain for privacy.

Dr Edwards has been running a free clinic here for two years. The youngest girl she’s treated was just 11 years old – for gonorrhoea. Later I hear there’s been a raid nearby. Thirteen young girls rescued and four brothel-owners arrested.

Many women are trying to work themselves out of debt. Most younger ones have been bought by the madam, and the earnings service their debt.

One prostitute who is under no obligation to stay in the trade explains, “This is the only job I know. What else can I do? People outside will always look down on us. So it’s better to stay and work here.”

« Back to main page

 

   | How to get involved  |  Contact us |  What is Christianity?
  Church Mission Society, Partnership House, 157 Waterloo Rd, London SE1 8UU UK
Tel. (+44) 20 7928 8681. Fax: (+44) 20 7401 3215. Registered Charity  Number 220297  ©CMS 2003