Circumstances, experiences and processes surrounding women's entry into sex work in India

Abstract

Evidence suggests that in India, the early stages of a woman's career as a sex worker may be an important period to target for HIV and sexually transmitted infection prevention. Before such an intervention is designed and implemented, it is necessary to first understand the life circumstances of women at the start of their sex work careers. We performed a review to bring together available literature pertaining to entry into sex work in India and to highlight knowledge gaps. We found that historical traditions of dedication into sex work, financial insecurity, family discord, violence and coercion, and desire for financial independence are commonly reported reasons for entering into sex work. We also found that families and the broader sex worker community play an important role in the early stages of a woman's sex work career. We suggest that HIV-prevention programmes in India would substantially benefit from a deeper understanding of the life circumstances of new and young women sex workers. Further research should be conducted focusing on family and community involvement in women's entry into sex work, and on the important period of time after a woman's first commercial sex encounter, but before self-identification as a sex worker.

Sustaining consistent condom use among female sex workers by addressing their vulnerabilities and strengthening community-led organizations in India

“…The study also found that improved financial security is a key driver in increasing consistent condom use. This is in line with previous studies which demonstrate that FSWs under poor financial conditions are more likely to engage in risky sexual practices [34][35][36]. Poor financial conditions have an inverse relationship with FSWs' ability to negotiate for condom use with their clients [37].…”

Prevalence and Correlates of Probable Depression and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Among Female Sex Workers in Lilongwe, Malawi

“…FSW face a unique set of occupational exposures that often place them at risk for mental health disorders. Many women enter sex work due to poverty (McClarty et al, 2014; Saggurti, Sabarwal, Verma, Halli, & Jain, 2011), which contributes to depression including factors such as hopelessness and insecurity (V. Patel & Kleinman, 2003).…”

Characterizing HIV risk and vulnerability among commercial sex workers in Zaporizhzhya, Ukraine

“…Figure 6 illustrates that clients were the most common perpetrators of this violence, but members of the militsiya were also implicated. [23][24][25][26], and are less likely to access to HIV prevention services, when compared to older CSW [11; 12]. Indeed, national HIV reports indicate that young CSW (<25 years) in Zaporizhzhya, when compared to older CSW (≥25 years), are disproportionately burdened by HIV infection [27], and are less likely to have been tested for HIV in the past twelve months or reached by existing programmes offering HIV prevention services [28].…”