Every day, a great number of news items are being churned out on the reality show star Jade Goody whose battle with Cervical Cancer has left her at Death’s doorstep.

Although Jade irked right- thinking individuals with her ‘Shilpa Poppadom’ jibes at fellow contestant Shilpa Shetty during the Celebrity Big Brother 2007 in the UK, she is now the focus of sympathy as someone so young who is being forced backstage due to a deadly disease.

A book based on Jade - ‘Forever in my heart’, which showcases her courage and determination to fight Cancer –is a love story written for her two little sons, aged 5 and 4 . The book hopes to be a source of inspiration to others facing similar ordeals.

More than anything, jade’s tryst with the deadly C has created a huge amount of awareness– of the kind not seen before. Cervical cancer testing has increased by 21% in UK hospitals and its impact will definitely be felt world - wide.

Women who are sexually active will be working in their own interest if they have the simple Pap smear test done periodically. This will help in the early detection of Cervical Cancer and will enhance the possibility of a complete cure!

“Sexual favors” allegedly sought from sex workers by some South African policemen in return for their release, is making news because of activists who are raising their voice against policemen blatantly violating basic human and constitutional rights of a very vulnerable group of women.

Sex Worker Education and Advocacy Taskforce (SWEAT) deserves praise for highlighting the “fear enforcement” of some policemen instead of law enforcement –as is the case with many policemen in different parts of the world. Sex workers in India would be surprised that the policemen in South Africa are actually “asking” for sexual favors. Because here the courtesy is often dispensed with. Sex workers who have been come out boldly to talk through books and magazines, say policemen constantly force them into sex wielding arrest as a threat.

Nalini Jameela who boldly exposed the sex racket in Kerala, India, in her best selling autobiography “Oru Laingigathozhilzhaliyude Atmakatha” (Autobiography of a Sex Worker) has cited many instances in which policemen not only exploited her but made her services “freely available” to politicians, to win their favor.

Sex Workers’ Forum is slowly gaining momentum in different parts of the world, though more often than not, like any vulnerable and marginalized segment in any society, sex workers take a beating in the face of established institutions—ironically, the police force in most cases.