Recognising the Human Rights of Female Sex Workers in India: Moving from Prohibition to Decriminalisation and a Pro-work Model

Sagade, Jaya; Förster, Christine

doi:10.1177/0971521517738450

Cited by 7 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…7 7 These feminist positions have been broadly shaped by legal perspectives on sex work, which can be organized into three approaches: prohibition legislation, social control legislation, and pro-labour legislation. Sagade & Forster (2018) offer a useful explication of each. The prohibitionist approach, the dominant framework in the U.S., contains two subsets.…”

Section: Feminist Theories Of Sex Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond the Marked Woman : The New Sex Worker in American Popular Culture, 2006-2016

Kirshner¹

2022

Preprint

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This dissertation argues that between 2006 and 2016, in a context of rising tolerance for sex workers, economic shifts under neoliberal capitalism, and the normalization of transactional intimate labour, popular culture began to offer new and humanizing images of the sex worker as an entrepreneur and care worker. This new popular culture legitimatizes sex workers in a growing services industry and carries important de-stigmatizing messages about sex workers, who continue to be among the most stigmatized of women workers in the U.S. These new representations challenge stereotypical portrayals of sex workers – as immoral criminals or exploited victims – that support conservative and patriarchal ideologies. Drawing upon feminist theories of sex work, labour theory, and feminist media studies methodology for exploring the nexus of gender, sexuality, and popular culture, this dissertation examines feature films, TV series, and TV and online documentaries that depict five sex work occupations – erotic dancers, massage parlour workers, webcam models, call girls, and sex surrogates – to illustrate the new figure of the sex worker as entrepreneur and care worker under neoliberal capitalism. By emphasizing sex workers’ agency to choose their work, dignifying their skills, underscoring sex work as a means of economic mobility, and highlighting the positive contributions sex workers make to their clients’ lives, these popular culture representations challenge the anti-sex work position espoused by conservative patriarchal ideology and prohibitionist feminists. Some of these new representations, however, intertwine with a neoliberal post-feminist sensibility that frames empowerment as realizable through individualism and the market alone, rather than in collective ways, and pose few concrete solutions to the challenges faced by sex workers today, namely criminalization. Even so, this dissertation argues that these emerging twenty-first century representations of the sex worker as entrepreneur and care worker are progressive and mark a growing social tolerance for the idea that, for some women, sex work is legitimate work.

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Section: Feminist Theories Of Sex Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond the Marked Woman : The New Sex Worker in American Popular Culture, 2006-2016

Kirshner¹

2022

Preprint

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“…India ranks third largest HIV epidemic in the world with 2.1 million people living with HIV in the country (Chen et al, 2019; UNAIDS, 2013). Though there exist several estimates, however, it is difficult to ascertain the definite population of FSWs in India (Sagade & Forster, 2018). As per the recent report of estimation of high-risk group for HIV, there is an estimate of 11.58 lakhs FSWs in India (NACO, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Personal network, recruitment pattern and network characteristics of female sex workers in a high HIV prevalent state of India

Phukan

Hazarika

2021

Journal of Social and Personal Relationships

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Personal network characteristics have an important role in assessing the hard-to-reach population. The purpose of the study was to assess the network characteristic, recruitment pattern and the association between personal networks with other cofactors of female sex workers (FSWs) in Nagaland, India. Four hundred and seventeen FSWs were recruited through Respondent Driven Sampling in Dimapur, Nagaland using seven seeds. Transition probability matrices and homophily indices were used to describe the network characteristics and network pattern of FSWs. Respondent Driven Sampling weighted logistic regression model was performed to observed the association. Mean personal network size of FSWs was 6.8. Heterophily was present for age at first sexual debut, duration of sex work, client volume per weeks, and personal network size. Being >30 years of age, having ≥10 years of engagement in sex work, being hotel/lodge entertainer, having more client were found significantly associated with an increased likelihood of personal network size. Higher personal network size was also found significantly associated with ever illicit drug used practices. The personal network sized and the existence of the affiliation between recruiters and recruitees may help to spread peer-driven intervention among FSWs in the region. Further, research is required on the social networks of FSWs for a better understanding of their personal network, network pattern, and high-risk behaviors in all aspects to build a better foundation for behavioral intervention.

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From Empowerment to Exploitation: Predicting Positive and Negative Associations with the Exchange of Sexual Services for Payment

Johansson,

Hansen

2023

Sexuality & Culture

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Few existing studies have delved into individual-level attitudes towards the exchange of sexual services for payment, leaving a significant gap in our understanding. Various studies have speculated about how certain demographic factors and attitudes may shape people's perceptions of causes and consequences relating to such exchanges, but none have directly investigated this topic. To bridge this gap, we predict individual-level associations between the exchange of sexual services for payment and positive and negative concepts. Using an original survey involving a substantial sample size of adults in the U.S. (n = 611), we examine the extent to which respondents associate these exchanges with sexual freedom, companionship, women's empowerment, poverty, women's exploitation, and human trafficking. Our study reveals some compelling results. When predicting attitudes towards the exchange of sexual services for payment, we find that women exhibit a stronger association with the negative concepts than men. Furthermore, individuals who view the exchange of sexual services for payment as socially acceptable are more likely to have stronger associations with the positive concepts. Surprisingly, the acceptability of exchanging sexual services for payment has no discernable impact on association with the negative concepts. The results add to our understanding of how the public perceives the exchange of sexual services for payment. A more nuanced understanding of public perception can foster constructive dialogues and debates, allowing for a more comprehensive exploration of potential policy solutions.

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Recognising the Human Rights of Female Sex Workers in India: Moving from Prohibition to Decriminalisation and a Pro-work Model

Cited by 7 publications

References 19 publications

Beyond the Marked Woman : The New Sex Worker in American Popular Culture, 2006-2016

Beyond the Marked Woman : The New Sex Worker in American Popular Culture, 2006-2016

Personal network, recruitment pattern and network characteristics of female sex workers in a high HIV prevalent state of India

From Empowerment to Exploitation: Predicting Positive and Negative Associations with the Exchange of Sexual Services for Payment

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