Transgender sex workers make a beeline to Kochi

KOCHI: It would be hard to miss small groups of transgender street-walkers in gaudy dresses and loud make-up soliciting for sex as one drives through the Chittoor Road that lies parallel to MG Road, the city's main business artery, after 10pm.
Many of them hail from Coimbatore and Koovagam in Tamil Nadu and Telangana and are here so that they could make money for sex reassignment surgeries (SRS). “In cities like Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad the market for transgenders is saturated. Kochi is a city that is slowly accepting third gender and to be honest the business here is good,“ said Dharani, a male to female transgender and a native of Coimbatore.
According to her, what they do may seem wrong in the eyes of many , but they have no other means of livelihood. “We cannot get jobs as people find our presence revolting. This is the only means for us to live without resorting to begging,“ said Dharani, who arrived in the city three months ago.
Police officials said the transgender sex workers have also been found scouting for clients in areas like Ernakulam South, MG Road and North railway station. Incidents of policing by vigilante groups is also a concern after some transgenders complained to the police about a group of youth who assaulted them near the South Overbridge last week.
“They came to us with a complaint that miscreants tried to stop them from earning their `livelihood', which was offering sexual favours for money . Though we are against it, there is nothing we can do unless a complaint is filed,“ said an officer with the Kochi South police station.
The residents who live near the streets where there presence has been recorded are aghast. “They're out on the roads as early as 10.30pm and most often have an en tourage of men following them around. If this is not curbed it could lead to an increase in sexually transmitted diseases and AIDS,“ said Meera Sudheer, a resident of Ernakulam South.
Police said they would be increasing the number of night patrols in the area. “We are aware of the new phenomenon. We see them entering high-end cars and have got calls about them frequenting hotels in the city with potential customers, but we can't just storm in and arrest them. We have increased our patrolling in areas they are known to frequent,“ said an official from the Ernakulam South police station.