Since its inception, it has been working as an advocacy group for sex workers and over the years, it has worked towards sensitizing general public about rights of sex workers, often initiating debate and discussion in public media and press, besides advocating abolition of 'The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956' (PITA), and legalisation of sex work. Many sex workers now have voters identity cards, health insurance and even bank accounts. In 1995, its consumer cooperative society and micro-credit programme, 'Usha' (literally meaning light), ensured that the Government of West Bengal altered the state's cooperative law to register it as a sex workers cooperative, instead of a 'housewives cooperative' under the prevalent state laws. By 2006–2007, small saving of its 5,000 members lead to an annual turnover to , with loan of distributed amongst its members, which also helped break the monopoly of local moneylenders, who would charge interest rates of up to 300%. The DMSC hosted India's first national convention of sex workers on 14 November 1997 in Kolkata, titled 'Sex Work is Real Work: We Demand Workers Rights'.