The game of cat and mouse between law enforcement authorities and those behind dubious and downright illegal websites offering escort and prostitution services continues. Even as the Goa Police have claimed to have cracked down on multiple such services -- 507 fraudulent websites and 767 scam mobile numbers -- the action does not even scratch the surface of the online business of solicitation that is thriving behind the anonymity of the Internet.
The proponents use jurisdictions where enforcement is low or non-existent to host their websites while the real target audience is in India. It is similar to what is happening in the murky world of online real-money gambling making it difficult to crack down on.
However, this shouldn’t serve as an excuse to not crack down on them. The police and law enforcement, are now more powerful than ever when it comes to tracking down online criminals with the help of laws designed for the online era that gives them unbridled powers to surveil online traffic. However, whether they do it to track real criminals or only to target political opponents is a question.
More than that, however, what is very much under the control of the police is to ensure that such activities do not flourish on the ground in the State and it is here that they are found wanting. Advertising via websites will happen only if the services are available on the ground. With the right kind of intelligence gathering, surveillance and boots on the ground approach, tackling what is essentially prostitution is very possible.
However, it is here that the police are found sorely lacking. In tourist areas, the police are all but invisible with a very thin presence recorded and seemingly unable to tackle everyday offences ranging from minor fights, pickpockets to even more serious offences such as eve-teasing, harassment of women tourists especially foreigners mainly by perverted tourists for whom Goa is a destination to leer, lech and stalk women tourists without any consequence -- something that is not possible in their home State.
Social media is rife with complaints -- both by tourists and influencers, including foreigners about the kind of haven for incels that Goa’s beaches have turned out to be. To their credit, the Goa Police have tackled and have arrested a few high profile cases that were highlighted due to videos being recorded of the incidents. However, unless such action is consistent, the situation will not change and neither will the state’s reputation that has taken a beating for this very reason.
To tackle the vice that is prostitution, Goa needs to curtail not just the supply, but also the demand for commercial sex workers. This will be possible only if the state improves its reputation via a zero tolerance policy towards taking advantage of women. It has to start with tackling the so called minor offences -- the offences that the police appear to be too busy to bother themselves with.
Besides, it's not the police’s job alone. They need help from the local panchayat, volunteers on the ground and other regulatory authorities whose permission that such dubious agencies also need if they are to run successfully. Villas and rooms to let, business licences issued by the panchayat, tourism department and the like are all tasked with keeping a check on such activity.
In the name of ease of doing business, one does not need a police verification to start a tourist business, meaning it's quite literally a free for all. Homes and flats are being let out and sub-let with little to no oversight.
Banning websites is just the tip of the iceberg. They will simply change the URL and start all over. Tackling the problem needs resolve and more importantly, a coordinated effort.
