Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-wq2xx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-17T18:50:57.606Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

MOTIVATIONS FOR ENTRY INTO SEX WORK AND HIV RISK AMONG MOBILE FEMALE SEX WORKERS IN INDIA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 June 2011

NIRANJAN SAGGURTI ,
RAVI K. VERMA ,
SHIVA S. HALLI ,
SUVAKANTA N. SWAIN ,
RAJENDRA SINGH ,
HANIMI REDDY MODUGU ,
SAUMYA RAMARAO ,
BIDHUBHUSAN MAHAPATRA  and
ANRUDH K. JAIN
NIRANJAN SAGGURTI
Affiliation:
HIV & AIDS Program, Population Council, New Delhi, India
RAVI K. VERMA
Affiliation:
International Center for Research on Women, New Delhi, India
SHIVA S. HALLI
Affiliation:
Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
SUVAKANTA N. SWAIN
Affiliation:
HIV & AIDS Program, Population Council, New Delhi, India
RAJENDRA SINGH
Affiliation:
International Center for Research on Women, Mumbai, India
HANIMI REDDY MODUGU
Affiliation:
South Asia Network for Chronic Diseases, Public Health Foundation of India, New Delhi, India
SAUMYA RAMARAO
Affiliation:
Population Council, New York, USA
BIDHUBHUSAN MAHAPATRA
Affiliation:
HIV & AIDS Program, Population Council, New Delhi, India
ANRUDH K. JAIN
Affiliation:
Population Council, New York, USA
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

This paper assesses the reasons for entry into sex work and its association with HIV risk behaviours among mobile female sex workers (FSWs) in India. Data were collected from a cross-sectional survey conducted in 22 districts across four high HIV prevalence states in India during 2007–2008. Analyses were limited to 5498 eligible mobile FSWs. The reasons given by FSWs for entering sex work and associations with socio-demographic characteristics were assessed. Reported reasons for entering sex work include poor or deprived economic conditions; negative social circumstances in life; own choice; force by an external person; and family tradition. The results from multivariate analyses indicate that those FSWs who entered sex work due to poor economic conditions or negative social circumstances in life or force demonstrated elevated levels of current inconsistent condom use as well as in the past in comparison with those FSWs who reported entering sex work by choice or family tradition. This finding indicates the need for a careful assessment of the pre-entry contexts among HIV prevention interventions since these factors may continue to hinder the effectiveness of efforts to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS in India and elsewhere.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 43 , Issue 5 , September 2011 , pp. 535 - 554
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aral, S. O., St Lawrence, J. S., Tikhonova, L., Safarova, E., Parker, K. A., Shakarishvili, A. & Ryan, C. A. (2003) The social organization of commercial sex work in Moscow, Russia. Sexually Transmitted Diseases 30(1), 39–45I.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Audinarayan, N. (1993) Determinants of female age at marriage in rural Andhra Pradesh: multivariate analysis. Demography India 22(3), 169–174.Google Scholar
Basu, I., Jana, S., Rotheram-Borus, M. J., Swendeman, D., Lee, S. J., Newman, P. & Weiss, R. (2004) HIV prevention among sex workers in India. Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome 36(3), 845–852.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bhagat, R. B. (2002). Early Marriages in India: A Socio-demographic Study. Rajat Publications, New Delhi.Google Scholar
Blanchard, J. F., O'Neil, J., Ramesh, B. M., Bhattacharjee, P., Orchard, T. & Moses, S. (2005) Understanding the social and cultural contexts of female sex workers in Karnataka, India: implications for prevention of HIV infection. Journal of Infectious Diseases 191 (Supplement 1), S139–146.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Blankenship, K. M., West, B. S., Kershaw, T. S. & Biradavolu, M. R. (2008) Power, community mobilization, and condom use practices among female sex workers in Andhra Pradesh, India. AIDS 22 (Supplement 5), S109–116.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brahme, R., Mehta, S., Sahay, S., Joglekar, N., Ghate, M., Joshi, S. et al. (2006) Correlates and trend of HIV prevalence among female sex workers attending sexually transmitted disease clinics in Pune, India (1993–2002). Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome 41(1), 107–113.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bucardo, J., Semple, S. J., Fraga-Vallejo, M., Davila, W. & Patterson, T. L. (2004) A qualitative exploration of female sex work in Tijuana, Mexico. Archives of Sexual Behavior 33(4), 343–351.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Busza, J. (2004) Sex work and migration: the dangers of oversimplification. A case study of Vietnamese women in Cambodia. Health and Human Rights 7(2), 231–249.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chattopadhyay, A. & McKaig, R. G. (2004) Social development of commercial sex workers in India: an essential step in HIV/AIDS prevention. AIDS Patient Care and STDs 18(3), 159–168.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chattopadhyay, M., Bandyopadhyay, S. & Duttagupta, C. (1994) Biosocial factors influencing women to become prostitutes in India. Social Biology 41(3–4), 252–259.Google ScholarPubMed
Dalla, R. L. (2001) Et tu Brute? An analysis of prostitutes' interpersonal support networks. Journal of Family Issues 22(8), 1066–1085.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dandona, R., Dandona, L., Kumar, G. A., Gutierrez, J. P., McPherson, S., Samuels, F. & Bertozzi, S. M. (2006) Demography and sex work characteristics of female sex workers in India. BMC International Health and Human Rights 6, 5–15.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Day, S. (1988) Prostitute women and AIDS: anthropology. AIDS 2(6), 421–428.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gupta, G. R., Parkhurst, J. O., Ogden, J. A., Aggleton, P. & Mahal, A. (2008) Structural approaches to HIV prevention. Lancet 372(9640), 764–775.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hong, Y. & Li, X. (2008) Behavioral studies of female sex workers in China: a literature review and recommendation for future research. AIDS and Behavior 12(4), 623–636.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
IIPS (International Institute for Population Sciences) & Macro International (2007) National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3), 2005–06: India (Vol. 1). IIPS, Mumbai.Google Scholar
Jana, S., Bandyopadhyay, N., Saha, A. & Dutta, M. K. (1999) Creating an enabling environment: lessons learnt from the Sonagachi Project, India. Research for Sex Work 2, 22–24.Google Scholar
Jana, S., Bandyopadhyay, N., Mukherjee, S., Dutta, N., Basu, I. & Saha, A. (1998) STD/HIV intervention with sex workers in West Bengal, India. AIDS 12 (Supplement B), S101–108.Google ScholarPubMed
Jana, S., Basu, I., Rotheram-Borus, M. J. & Newman, P. A. (2004) The Sonagachi Project: a sustainable community intervention program. AIDS Education and Prevention 16(5), 405–414I.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jana, S. & Singh, S. (1995) Beyond medical model of STD intervention – lessons from Sonagachi. Indian Journal of Public Health 39(3), 125–131.Google ScholarPubMed
Kerrigan, D., Ellen, J. M., Moreno, L., Rosario, S., Katz, J., Celentano, D. D. & Sweat, M. (2003) Environmental-structural factors significantly associated with consistent condom use among female sex workers in the Dominican Republic. AIDS 17(3), 415–423.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Moses, S., Ramesh, B. M., Nagelkerke, N. J., Khera, A., Isac, S., Bhattacharjee, P., Gurnani, V. et al. (2008) Impact of an intensive HIV prevention programme for female sex workers on HIV prevalence among antenatal clinic attenders in Karnataka state, south India: an ecological analysis. AIDS 22 (Supplement 5), S101–108.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
NACO (National AIDS Control Organisation) (2006) NACP-III – To Halt and Reverse the HIV Epidemic in India. URL: http://www.nacoonline.org/Quick_Links/Publication/IEC_Mainstreaming_and_Social_Marketing/Reports_and_Surveys/NACP-III__To_Halt_and_Reverse_the_HIV_Epidemic_in_India/Google Scholar
Ngugi, E. N., Wilson, D., Sebstad, J., Plummer, F. A. & Moses, S. (1996) Focused peer-mediated educational programs among female sex workers to reduce sexually transmitted disease and human immunodeficiency virus transmission in Kenya and Zimbabwe. Journal of Infectious Diseases 174 (Supplement 2), S240–247.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
NIMS (National Institute of Medical Statistics) & NACO (National AIDS Control Organisation) (2006) Technical Report on India HIV Estimates 2006. New Delhi, India.Google Scholar
Parker, R. G., Easton, D. & Klein, C. H. (2000) Structural barriers and facilitators in HIV prevention: a review of international research. AIDS 14 (Supplement 1), S22–32.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Raj, A., Saggurti, N., Balaiah, D. & Silverman, J. G. (2009) Prevalence of child marriage and its effect on fertility and fertility-control outcomes of young women in India: a cross-sectional, observational study. Lancet 373(9678), 1883–1889.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rama Rao, G. & Sureender, S. (1998) Factors associated with female age at marriage in Pondicherry. Demography India 27(2), 401–418.Google Scholar
Ramesh, B. M., Moses, S., Washington, R., Isac, S., Mohapatra, B., Mahagaonkar, S. B. et al. (2008) Determinants of HIV prevalence among female sex workers in four south Indian states: analysis of cross-sectional surveys in twenty-three districts. AIDS 22 (Supplement 5), S35–44.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rao, V., Gupta, I., Lokshin, M. & Jana, S. (2003) Sex workers and the cost of safe sex: the compensating differential for condom use among Calcutta prostitutes. Journal of Development Economics 71(2), 585–603.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reza-Paul, S., Beattie, T., Syed, H. U., Venukumar, K. T., Venugopal, M. S., Fathima, M. P. et al. (2008) Declines in risk behaviour and sexually transmitted infection prevalence following a community-led HIV preventive intervention among female sex workers in Mysore, India. AIDS 22 (Supplement 5), S91–100.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Richard, J. & Rao, P. S. (1997) Influence of age at marriage and family planning of fertility. Demography India 24(1), 81–86.Google Scholar
Rozario, R. (1988) Trafficking in Women and Children in India: Sexual Exploitation and Sale. Uppal Publishing House, New Delhi.Google Scholar
Salunke, S. R., Shaukat, M., Hira, S. K. & Jagtap, M. R. (1998) HIV/AIDS in India: a country responds to a challenge. AIDS 12 (Supplement B), S27–31.Google ScholarPubMed
Sharpe, K. (1998) Red Light, Blue Light: Prostitutes, Punters, and the Police. Ashgate Publishing Co., Brookfield.Google Scholar
Silverman, J. G., Decker, M. R., Gupta, J., Maheshwari, A., Patel, V. & Raj, A. (2006) HIV prevalence and predictors among rescued sex-trafficked women and girls in Mumbai, India. Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes 43(5), 588–593.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sivaram, M., Richard, J. & Rao, P. S. (1995) Early marriage among rural and urban females of south India. Journal of Biosocial Science 27(3), 325–331.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Somaiya, P. A., Awate, R. V. & Bhore, P. D. (1990) Socio-psychological study of the prostitutes. Indian Journal of Public Health 34(2), 93–97.Google ScholarPubMed
Steen, R., Mogasale, V., Wi, T., Singh, A. K., Das, A., Daly, C. et al. (2006) Pursuing scale and quality in STI interventions with sex workers: initial results from Avahan India AIDS Initiative. Sexually Transmitted Infections 82(5), 381–385.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
UNAIDS (2002) Sex Work and HIV/AIDS. UNAIDS Technical Update. Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), Geneva.Google Scholar
UNDP (2007) Human Trafficking and HIV: Exploring Vulnearibilities and Responses in South Asia. UNDP Regional Centre, Colombo.Google Scholar
UNESCO (2002) A Cultural Approach to HIV/AIDS Prevention and Care: Towards a Handbook for India. Studies and Reports, Special Series. UNESCO, New Delhi.Google Scholar
Wawer, M. J., Podhisita, C., Kanungsukkasem, U., Pramualratana, A. & McNamara, R. (1996) Origins and working conditions of female sex workers in urban Thailand: consequences of social context for HIV transmission. Social Science & Medicine 42(3), 453–462.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Whelehan, P. (2001) An Anthropological Perspective on Prostitution, The World's Oldest Profession. Edwin Mellen Press, Lewiston.Google Scholar
Zalduondo, B. O. D. (1991) Prostitution viewed cross-culturally: toward recontextualizing sex work in AIDS intervention research. Journal of Sex Research 28(2), 223–248.CrossRefGoogle Scholar