Poverty of Opportunity Forcing Women Into Prostitution—A Qualitative Study in Pakistan

Khan, Mohsin Saeed; Johansson, Eva; Zaman, Shakila; Unemo, Magnus; Rahat, N. I.; Lundborg, Cecilia Stålsby

doi:10.1080/07399330903349707

Cited by 17 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Similar findings have been reported from Pakistan [26]. In our study, sex workers saw financial stability as a benefit of sex work, allowing them to support their families, and thus fulfill important social obligations.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

“…In many contexts, including Lao, when families are stressed financially, girls are often kept out of school [31]. Thus women do not qualify for well-paid jobs, have fewer job opportunities, and are financially vulnerable, forcing some women to engage in commercial sex as a mean of survival [26]. In contexts where there is unequal distribution of wealth and resources, obligations to support one’s family are of utmost importance for the survival of the family.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Risks, benefits and survival strategies-views from female sex workers in Savannakhet, Laos

et al. 2012

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BackgroundFemale sex workers (FSWs) are vulnerable to sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and encounter socio-economic and health problems, including STIs/HIV, unintended pregnancy and complications from unsafe abortion, stigma, violence, and drug addiction. Reducing risks associated with sex work requires an understanding of the social and cultural context in which sex workers live and work. This study aimed to explore the working environment and perceived risks among FSWs in Savannakhet province in Laos.MethodsFive focus group discussions (FGDs) and seven interviews were conducted with FSWs in Kaysone Phomvihan district in Laos. Latent content analysis was used to analyze the transcribed text.ResultsThe results revealed that the FSWs were aware of risks but they also talked about benefits related to their work. The risks were grouped into six categories: STIs/HIV, unintended pregnancy, stigma, violence, being cheated, and social and economic insecurity. The reported benefits were financial security, fulfilling social obligations, and sexual pleasure. The FSWs reported using a number of strategies to reduce risks and increase benefits.ConclusionsThe desire to be self-sufficient and earn as much money as possible put the FSWs in disadvantaged and vulnerable situations. Fear of financial insecurity, obligations to support one’s family and the need to secure the future influenced FSWs’ decisions to have safe or unsafe sex. The FSWs were, however, not only victims. They also had some control over their lives and working environment, with most viewing their work as an easy and good way of earning money.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Risks, benefits and survival strategies-views from female sex workers in Savannakhet, Laos

et al. 2012

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“…In particular, interventions targeting FSWs' health should locate communication within the intersection of gender, performed identity, and class. The articulations of womanhood, motherhood, and poverty impacting health and health‐related decisions resonate with previous studies on the context of sex work and health (see for instance, Basu & Dutta, ; Beckham et al, ; Dasgupta, ; Ingabire et al, ; Khan et al, ). These intersections reveal multiple and simultaneous oppressions faced by FSWs, and provide an important entry to rethink health communication research and practice.…”

Section: Intersectionality and Health Communicationsupporting

confidence: 80%

“…For instance, gender inequalities fostered through social practices and policies that make women vulnerable increase the likelihood of sex work becoming the means of livelihood (Hankins & de Zalduondo, 2010). Sex work as a means of livelihood, particularly in the context of poverty, has been established in many places such as India (Basu & Dutta, 2011;Dasgupta, 2013), Iran (Karamouzian et al, 2016), Nepal (Basnyat, 2014), Pakistan (Khan et al, 2010), Rwanda (Ingabire et al, 2012), and Tanzania (Beckham, Shembilu, Winch, Beyrer, & Kerrigan, 2015). Basu and Dutta (2011) argue that addressing FSWs' health risks requires an understanding of the context of commercial sex work located within broader cultural expectations and practices.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Theorizing the Relationship Between Gender and Health Through a Case Study of Nepalese Street-Based Female Sex Workers

Basnyat

2017

Commun Theor

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The environmental‐structural communication approach attempts to reduce the prevalence of individual health risks to female sex workers' (FSW) through community‐level interventions. However, I argue that this approach narrowly defines health and such communication efforts are focused on changing the work environment to facilitate the reduction of individual risk prevalence. Based on 35 in‐depth interviews, I use lived experiences of FSWs as a case study to discuss the relationships between gender and health. The intersectionality framework allows health communication efforts to incorporate analysis of multiple and simultaneous influences of gender relations, gender identities, and class on the transmission of health risks. These intersections draw our attention to think differently about inequalities and vulnerabilities that shape health and health behaviors of FSWs.

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“…The results from a study in Vietnam suggested that FSWs engaged in transactional sex because of the need to support sibling's school fees, paying for a new house, and paying the family's debt (24). A previous study conducted in Pakistan indicated that poverty, financial burdens, and a desire to survive forced women into prostitution (25). Being able to support the family made participants proud and gave them social value.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Health is wealth and wealth is health’ – perceptions of health and ill-health among female sex workers in Savannakhet, Laos

Phrasisombath

Thomsen

Sychareun

et al. 2013

Global Health Action

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BackgroundFemale sex workers (FSWs) are vulnerable to sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and other types of health problems and they also encounter socio-economic difficulties. Efforts to develop effective health intervention programs for FSWs have been hampered by a lack of information on why FSWs do not seek or delay seeking treatment for STIs. To further understand their reasons, our study applied a qualitative approach to explore perceptions of health and ill-health among FSWs in Savannakhet province in Laos.MethodsFifteen in-depth interviews were conducted with FSWs in Savannakhet province. Latent content analysis was used for analysis.ResultsSex workers’ definitions of health and wealth are intertwined. Thus, good health was described as strongly related to wealth, and wealth was needed in order to be healthy. This is explained in two sub-themes: health is necessary for work and income and ill-health creates social and economic vulnerability.ConclusionsFemale sex workers’ beliefs and perceptions about health and ill-health were dominated by their economic need, which in turn was influenced by expectations and demands from their families.

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Poverty of Opportunity Forcing Women Into Prostitution—A Qualitative Study in Pakistan

Cited by 17 publications

References 12 publications

Risks, benefits and survival strategies-views from female sex workers in Savannakhet, Laos

Risks, benefits and survival strategies-views from female sex workers in Savannakhet, Laos

Theorizing the Relationship Between Gender and Health Through a Case Study of Nepalese Street-Based Female Sex Workers

‘Health is wealth and wealth is health’ – perceptions of health and ill-health among female sex workers in Savannakhet, Laos

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