The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956

The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, passed by the Parliament of India in 1956, aims to prevent ‘immoral traffic’ in women and girls. The 18-page Act refers to ‘prostitution’ as “…the sexual exploitation or abuse of persons for commercial purposes or for consideration in money or in any other kind.” The law includes clauses on running brothels, persons living off the earnings of prostitutes, procuring or inducing persons to practice prostitution (terms used by the Act), rescuing and rehabilitating persons employed in this work, and more. It extends to the whole of India.