This article analyses the Indian caste-based occupation of sanitation work undertaken without protective equipment—manual scavenging. The current legal framework on manual scavenging in India suggests that demolishing dry latrines will abolish manual scavenging. This approach overlooks the coercive nature of the caste system and is therefore an inadequate solution for abolishing manual scavenging. Hence, this article asks ‘how can the legal system provide better legal protections to manual scavengers when the caste system that underpins the practice is deeply entrenched in Indian society?’ The article examines one possible answer—taking dignity more seriously. It demonstrates that manual scavenging is a dignitarian problem by mapping the main dignitarian harms that arise from it, such as humiliation, loss of autonomy and tensions with group dignity. Ultimately, it proposes using dignity in line with the jurisprudence of the UN Human Rights Committee to provide more comprehensive legal protections for manual scavengers.

中文翻译：

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认真对待尊严以保护印度的手工拾荒者：联合国人权委员会的经验教训

本文分析了印度种姓职业在没有防护设备的情况下从事的卫生工作——人工清扫。印度目前关于人工清粪的法律框架表明，拆除干厕所将废除人工清粪。这种方法忽视了种姓制度的强制性质，因此对于废除人工清扫来说是一个不充分的解决方案。因此，本文提出“当支持这种做法的种姓制度在印度社会中根深蒂固的情况下，法律制度如何为手工拾荒者提供更好的法律保护？” 这篇文章探讨了一个可能的答案——更认真地对待尊严。它通过绘制由此产生的主要尊严伤害（例如羞辱，丧失自主权和与群体尊严的紧张关系。最终，它建议以符合联合国人权委员会判例的尊严，为手工拾荒者提供更全面的法律保护。