VZCZCXRO9743
PP RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHLH RUEHPW
DE RUEHCI #0152/01 1291011
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 091011Z MAY 07
FM AMCONSUL KOLKATA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1539
INFO RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 1456
RUEHCG/AMCONSUL CHENNAI 0640
RUEHBI/AMCONSUL MUMBAI 0635
RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA 0411
RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU 0417
RUEHGO/AMEMBASSY RANGOON 0272
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 0336
RUEHLH/AMCONSUL LAHORE 0113
RUEHKP/AMCONSUL KARACHI 0113
RUEHPW/AMCONSUL PESHAWAR 0087
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHINGTON DC
RUEHPH/CDC CDC ATLANTA GA
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0043
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0037
RUEIDN/DNI WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RUEHC/USAID WASHDC
RUEHCI/AMCONSUL KOLKATA 1898

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KOLKATA 000152 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR G/TIP - PATEL, SIGMAN;  SCA/INS - GANDHI;  SCA/RA - LEE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM EAID TBIO KHIV IN
SUBJECT: YOUNG BOYS AND MEN SUFFER SEXUAL EXPLOITATION AS TRADITIONAL 
DANCERS IN EAST INDIA 
 
 
¶1.   Summary:  A United Nations Development Program (UNDP) 
funded report entitled "Dancing Boys: Traditional Prostitution 
of Young Males in India" highlights the problem of sexual abuse 
and exploitation of "launda dancers" - young boys and men, who 
are hired to dance (in women's clothing) at marriage ceremonies 
and Hindu festivals in the states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. 
The report was conducted by non-government organization (NGO) 
People Like Us (PLUS) and involved a survey of 400 boys and 
young men.  The report notes that there is very little awareness 
about this traditional practice of launda dancing in Northern 
India.  It recommends that national, state and local governments 
and NGOs recognize the issue, take appropriate measures and 
provide resources to address the problem. The report is 
available at http://www.crin.org/docs/dancing%20boy.pdf.  End 
Summary. 
 
 
 
¶2.  Traditionally, "laundas," young boys in the age range of 15 
- 25 years were hired by poor families in Bihar and Uttar 
Pradesh who could not afford women dancers to perform at 
weddings and festivals.  Over time, "launda naach" has become an 
integral part of such celebrations and demand for laundas has 
grown.  Lured by money and faced with very limited options to 
participate in mainstream occupations, effeminate boys from poor 
families are tempted or sometimes forced into this profession. 
PLUS estimates that there are approximately 5,000 launda 
dancers, with almost half coming from West Bengal. 
 
 
 
¶3.  The launda dancers mainly originate from West Bengal, Bihar, 
Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra and also from Nepal and Bangladesh 
via West Bengal.  They are introduced into the profession 
through peers who act as pimps, elderly laundas, and orchestra 
party members.  They migrate from place to place within the 
states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh during the marriage season, 
between April and June in Summer and December to February in 
Winter.  Usually, orchestra companies hire launda dancers on 
contract and pay them a lump sum of money in addition to free 
food and accommodation.  However, the money offered to the 
dancers is only a fraction of what the orchestra owners actually 
receive from clients. 
 
 
 
¶4.  The problems faced by the launda dancers are many.  The 
owners of orchestra parties they belong to force them into 
prostitution.  The dancers have to cope with frequent physical 
and sexual assaults from intoxicated clients.  Young boys unable 
to defend themselves are sometimes gang raped by men at weddings 
and festivities where they are sent to dance.  Due to their 
mobility, multiple partners and unsafe sexual practices, they 
are at a high risk of contracting HIV/AIDS.  In many cases, 
forced by circumstances, laundas accept castration, so that for 
the rest of the year (besides the marriage season) they can join 
the "hijra" (traditional transvestite) community to earn a 
living.  The castration is often performed by quacks and a 
majority of the dancers suffer from post operation complications 
and infections for which they cannot go to government medical 
facilities, since their operation is technically illegal.  As a 
result, approximately 25 percent die due to post castration 
problems. 
 
 
 
¶5.  The report puts forward some figures to highlight the 
magnitude of the problems faced by the launda dancers.  The 
study was conducted among 400 respondents, primarily launda 
dancers in the age group of 15 - 25 years.  76.75% of the 
respondents were from West Bengal, 7% from Uttar Pradesh, 4% 
from Bihar, 6% from Nepal, 1% from Bangladesh, and 5% from other 
 
KOLKATA 00000152  002 OF 002 
 
 
parts of India.  When asked about the reason for taking up the 
profession of launda dancing, 64.47% said they do it for money, 
26.5% do it since they believe it is the only option they have, 
7.9% do it because they believe dancing is their only skill. 
Regarding the migratory behavior of the launda dancers, 32.8% of 
the respondents changed their destination between 3-5 months, 
59.39% between 6-11 months, 7.7% every 12 months. 
 
 
 
¶6.  With reference to sexual exploitation, the figures are 
alarming.  49% of the respondents said that their first sexual 
encounter was between 9-12 years.  88% reported that it was 
forced.  62.5% said they regularly faced sexual assault.  32.5% 
said they had sex with 21-30 partners in the last month, 25% 
said they had 31-40 partners.  High mobility, forced sexual acts 
and multiple partners makes the launda dancers highly vulnerable 
to Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) and HIV / AIDS 
infections.  However, only 8.5% of the respondents said that 
they used condoms regularly.  As a result, 42% of the 
respondents reported that they were suffering from STDs in the 
last six months.  Although 69.7% said that they had heard about 
HIV, barely 16% had actually gone in for testing. 
 
 
 
¶7.  Comment:  The report brings to the focus the plight of 
children and young adults who face physical and sexual abuse 
under the guise of a socially accepted tradition of dancing in 
the states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.  It also makes several 
recommendations to relieve the misery of this community. 
Recommendations include the creation of "healing centers" for 
gender variant boys subjected to violence, sexual abuse and 
exploitation, raising awareness about HIV/AIDS prevention and 
practicing safe sex, and improving access of members of this 
community to state funded medical services.  However, given the 
limited awareness about this problem of exploitation of young 
boys and men, it would also require a concerted effort by 
government offices and NGOs to change social attitudes and to 
improve enforcement of laws against sexual assault.  End Comment. 
JARDINE