Understanding the Social and Cultural Contexts of Female Sex Workers in Karnataka, India: Implications for Prevention of HIV Infection

Blanchard, James; O’Neil, John; Ramesh, B M; Bhattacharjee, Parinita; Orchard, Treena; Moses, Stephen

doi:10.1086/425273

Cited by 134 publications

(159 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Symptoms/ presentation of HIV: The most commonly quoted symptoms are Genital discharge (65%), Genital ulcers (40%), burning pain during urination (45%), abdominal pain (73), other symptoms mentioned are weakness, fever, hair loss, discoularisation of face, jaundice, red eye, weight loss, loose stools. [8][9][10] All our study population have heard of HIV which is similar to the observations made in National Behavioural Surveillance Survey in Karnataka but very less proportion (44.2%) of FSW's have heard about HIV in a study conducted by Todd CS et al 1,11 The level of awareness were similar to observations made by BSS survey in Karnataka in most of the components and better than National average in part of them. The better awareness level could be attributed to the exposure of the FSW's to the targeted intervention programme.…”

Section: Samplingsupporting

confidence: 80%

A study on awareness about HIV among female sex workers of Davangere, Karnataka, India: a cross-sectional study

Girish

Haladi

Balu

2016

Int J Community Med Public Health

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Section: Samplingsupporting

confidence: 80%

A study on awareness about HIV among female sex workers of Davangere, Karnataka, India: a cross-sectional study

Girish

Haladi

Balu

2016

Int J Community Med Public Health

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“…In addition, the criteria used to determine typologies may be different, despite using apparently same categorization and terminology. To exemplify, NACO (2007a) distinguishes between FSWs based on place of solicitation, while in the context of Karnataka, Halli et al (2006) and Blanchard et al (2005) NACO (2007a) guidelines, programmers should conduct mapping to collect information on the FSW type practiced in each hotspot prior to programme implementation. Most surveys conducted among FSWs take into account the FSW typology as part of the sampling strategy.…”

Section: Naco (2007a)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous studies have used various criteria to distinguish between FSW types: practice (Raghuramaiah 1991), mode of operation (NACO 1997), mode of organization (Cornish 2004), nature of the sex work network (Singh et al 2005), place of sex (Blanchard et al 2005;Halli et al 2006), and primary place of solicitation (KHPT 2005;Isac et al 2007;NACO 2007a). The first four criteria cannot be directly measured, which can pose difficulties in terms of attributing individual cases of FSWs to a certain category.…”

Section: Naco (2007a)mentioning

confidence: 99%

The female sex work typology in India in the context of HIV/AIDS

Buzdugan

Halli

Cowan

2009

Tropical Med Int Health

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Summaryobjective To conduct a critical review of the typology of female sex work in India. method Published and unpublished studies were identified through electronic databases, hand searching and contacting experts.results The review assesses the appropriateness of the existing typologies from a programmatic perspective and identifies their strengths and limitations. It indicates there is conceptual confusion around the typology and that none of the existing typologies are exhaustive, in that none includes all types of sex work documented in India. The typology developed by the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) is the most comprehensive. The typology is based on the primary place of solicitation and categorizes female sex workers (FSWs) as brothel-based, street-based, home-based, lodge-based, dhaba-based and highway-based FSWs. However, this typology has its limitations. First, it does not include all categories of FSWs documented in the literature, such as indirect-primary (primarily solicit clients at their places of work, which are venues where facilitating sex work is their main purpose e.g. massage parlours, bars), indirect-secondary (primarily solicit clients at their places of work, which are in non-sex work related industries e.g. agriculture, construction) and phone-based FSWs (primarily solicit clients through phones). Second, the methodology used to develop the typology proposed by NACO or by any other researchers is not explicit. In addition, the extent to which the typology captures the HIV risk variability between FSWs types is not explored.conclusion There is a need to develop an evidence-based, inclusive typology which takes account of HIV risk for researchers and programmers.keywords female sex work, typology of female sex work, India

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“…Current literature indicates that economic insecurity of women and their dependence on men increase their vulnerability to HIV by limiting their agency to negotiate the conditions for safer sex [1]. Studies in India show that women either involve in sex work involuntarily, often due to economic reasons [2] or they are forced into sex work [3] [4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Female Sex Workers and Their Association with Self-Help Groups in Thane, Maharashtra, India: A Comparative Analysis in the Context of HIV Program Outcome

Yadav¹,

Sakthivel²,

Tayyaba³

et al. 2016

WJA

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Objectives: Understanding the role of Self-Help Group (SHG) in light of the evolving dynamics of sex work needs to be delved into to strategize HIV interventions among FSWs in India. This paper aims to study the HIV program outcome among the FSWs associated with SHGs and FSWs not associated with SHGs in Thane, Maharashtra. Study Design: This cross-sectional study was undertaken from the Behavioral Tracking Survey (BTS) conducted among 503 FSWs in Thane in 2015. Two-stage probability based conventional sampling was done for selection of brothel and bar based FSWs, while Time Location Cluster (TLC) sampling was done for home, lodge and street based sex workers. Methods: Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression were performed to compare and contrast between FSWs associated with SHG and those not associated with SHG with respect to the utilization of HIV related services by them. "Condom use", "consistent condom use", "contact with peer-educators", "counseling sessions" and "HIV testing" were chosen as indicators on HIV service utilization. Results: 8% (38) of FSWs are registered with SHG; 92% aged ≥25 years, 47% illiterate, and 71% are currently married. The likelihood of utilizing HIV services including, knowledge on HIV/AIDS and its mode of transmission (OR: 5.54; CI: 1.87 -16.60; p < 0.05), accessed drop-in Centre (OR: 6.53; CI: 2.15 -19.88; p < 0.10), heard about joint health camps (OR: 4.71; CI: 2.12 -10.46); p < 0.05), negotiated or stood up against police/broker/local goonda/clients (OR: 2.26; CI: 1.08 -4.73; p < 0.05), turned away clients when they refused to use condom during sex (OR: 3.76; CI: 1.27 -11.15; p < 0.05) and heard of ART (OR; 4.55; CI: 2.18 -9.48; p < 0.01) were higher among FSWs associated with SHG in comparison to FSWs not associated with SHG. Conclusions: Considering the improved HIV program outcomes among 187FSWs associated with SHG, HIV interventions among FSWs could consider facilitating the formation of SHGs with FSWs as one of the key strategies to empower the community for ensuring better program outcomes.

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Understanding the Social and Cultural Contexts of Female Sex Workers in Karnataka, India: Implications for Prevention of HIV Infection

Abstract: Differences in sociobehavioral characteristics and practice patterns between Devadasi and other FSWs necessitate different individual and structural interventions for the prevention of sexually transmitted infections, including human immunodeficiency virus infection.

Cited by 134 publications

References 14 publications

A study on awareness about HIV among female sex workers of Davangere, Karnataka, India: a cross-sectional study

A study on awareness about HIV among female sex workers of Davangere, Karnataka, India: a cross-sectional study

The female sex work typology in India in the context of HIV/AIDS

Female Sex Workers and Their Association with Self-Help Groups in Thane, Maharashtra, India: A Comparative Analysis in the Context of HIV Program Outcome

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