Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

This study's objective was to analyze the experiences of gender-based violence (GBV) against cisgender female sex workers in Kolkata through the lens of structuration theory. We interviewed 30 cisgender female sex workers in Kolkata, India on their experiences with GBV in the language of Bengali. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis, we identified three main themes in the transcripts: (1) interpersonal violence preceding sex work; (2) interpersonal violence after entering sex work; and (3) structural violence against sex workers. Sex workers continue to face frequent experiences of interpersonal and structural violence, which are intimately related to structural forces of social oppression, power, and the sexual regulation of the bodies and rights of women.

Keywords

sex work India gender violence cisgender women

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Aborisade

R. A.

(2018). Police abuse of sex workers in Nigeria: Evidence from a qualitative study. Police Practice and Research, 20(4), 405–419. https://doi.org/10.1080/15614263.2018.1500283

Acharya

Azhar

(2024). “We are treated as outsiders in our own city”: Lived experiences of stigma against sex workers in Kolkata, India. Sexuality Research and Social Policy, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-024-01054-8

Alase

A. O.

(2017). The interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA): A guide to a good qualitative research approach. International Journal of Education and Literacy Studies, 5(2), 9–19. https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijels.v.5n.2p.9

Argento

Win

K. T.

McBride

Shannon

(2021). Global burden of violence and other human rights violations against sex workers. Sex work, health, and human rights. Springer.

Azhar

Alvarez

Flores

A. F.

Klumpner

(2021b). “You're so exotic looking”: An intersectional analysis of Asian American and pacific islander stereotypes. Affilia, 36(3), 282–301. https://doi.org/10.1177/08861099211001460

Azhar

Dasgupta

Sinha

Karandikar

(2020). Diversity in sex work in India: Challenging stereotypes regarding sex workers. Sexuality & Culture, 24(6), 1774–1797. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-020-09719-3

Azhar

Gunn

A. J.

(2021a). Navigating intersectional stigma: Strategies for coping among cisgender women of color. Qualitative Health Research, 31(12), 2194–2210. https://doi.org/10.1177/10497323211025249

Basnyat

(2017). Structural violence in health care: Lived experience of street-based female commercial sex workers in Kathmandu. Qualitative Health Research, 27(2), 191–203. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732315601665

Beattie

T. S. H.

Bhattacharjee

Ramesh

B. M.

Gurnani

Anthony

Isac

Mohan

H. L.

Ramakrishnan

Wheeler

Bradley

Blanchard

J. F.

Moses

(2010). Violence against female sex workers in Karnataka state, south India: Impact on health, and reductions in violence following an intervention program. BMC Public Health, 64, 476–487. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-10-476

10.

Beattie

T. S.

Bradley

J. E.

Vanta

U. D.

Lowndes

C. M.

Alary

(2013). Vulnerability re-assessed: The changing face of sex work in Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh. AIDS Care, 25(3), 378–384. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540121.2012.701726

11.

Bhattacharya

Fulu

Murthy

Seshu

M. S.

Cabassi

Vallejo Mestres

(2015). The right(s) evidence—Sex work, violence and HIV in Asia: A multicountry qualitative study. billahUNFPA, UNDP and APNSW (CASAM).

12.

Biradavolu

M. R.

Blankenship

K. M.

Jena

(2012). Structural stigma, sex work and HIV: Contradictions and lessons learnt from a community-led structural intervention in southern India. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 66(Suppl. 2), ii95–ii99. https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2011-200508

13.

Biradavolu

M. R.

Burris

George

Jena

Blankenship

K. M.

(2009). Can sex workers regulate the police? Learning from an HIV prevention project for sex workers in southern India. Social Science & Medicine, 68(8), 1541–1547. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2009.01.040

14.

Boyce

S. C.

Morales-Miranda

Ritter

Triplett

D. P.

Loya-Montiel

Silverman

J. G.

(2020). HIV infection and risk heightened among female sex workers who entered the sex trade as adolescents in Guatemala. AIDS and Behavior, 24(10), 2906–2917. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-020-03019-8

15.

Brickell

(2006). The sociological construction of gender and sexuality. The Sociological Review, 54(1), 87–113. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-954X.2006.00603.x

16.

Burton

C. W.

Gilpin

C. E.

Draughon

(2021). Structural violence: A concept analysis to inform nursing science and practice. Nursing Forum, 22(1), 382–388. https://doi.org/10.1111/nuf.12535

17.

Campbell

(2016). Not getting away with it: Addressing violence against sex workers as hate crime in Merseyside (Doctoral dissertation, Durham University).

18.

Chattopadhyay

Bandyopadhyay

Duttagupta

(1994). Biosocial factors influencing women to become prostitutes in India. Social Biology, 41(3–4), 252–259. https://doi.org/10.1080/19485565.1994.9988876

19.

Choi

Holroyd

(2007). The influence of power, poverty and agency in the negotiation of condom use for female sex workers in Mainland China. Culture, Health & Sexuality, 9(5), 489–503. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691050701220446

20.

Church

Henderson

Barnard

Hart

(2001). Violence by clients towards female prostitutes in different work settings: Questionnaire survey. British Medical Journal, 322(7286), 524–525. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.322.7285.524

21.

Cohen

I. J.

Cohen

I. J.

(1989). Structuration theory and social praxis (pp. 9–55). Palgrave London, Macmillan Education UK. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-20255-3_2

22.

Cornish

(2006). Challenging the stigma of sex work in India: Material context and symbolic change. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 16(6), 462–471. https://doi.org/10.1002/casp.894

23.

Coy

Wakeling

Garner

(2011). Selling sex sells: Representations of prostitution and the sex industry in sexualised popular culture as symbolic violence. Women's Studies International Forum, 34(5), 441–448. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wsif.2011.05.008

24.

Cruz

(2024). Unionising sex workers and other feminists. Social & Legal Studies, 33(4), 501–525. https://doi.org/10.1177/09646639231206695

25.

Dandona

Kumar

G. A.

Gutierrez

J. P.

McPherson

Samuels

Bertozzi

S. M.

, & ASCI FPP Study Team. (2006). Demography and sex work characteristics of female sex workers in India. BMC International Health and Human Rights, 6(5), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-698X-6-5

26.

Dasgupta

(2013). Poverty as a contextual factor affecting sexual health behavior among female sex workers in India. Qualitative Health Research, 23(6), 825–833. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732313483925

27.

Dasgupta

(2021). Violence in commercial sex work: A case study on the impact of violence among commercial female sex workers in India and strategies to combat violence. Violence Against Women, 27(15–16), 3056–3073. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801220969881

28.

Dasgupta

Sinha

(2021). Community-based strategies for harm reduction among sex workers in Kolkata, India. Sexuality Research and Social Policy, 18(4), 920–932. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-021-00588-5

29.

Deb

(2008). Mental dispositions of commercial sex workers (CSWs) with HIV/AIDS. Journal of Indian Academy of Applied Psychology, 34(Special Issue), 90–100.

30.

Deering

K. N.

Amin

Shoveller

Nesbitt

Garcia-Moreno

Duff

Argento

Shannon

(2014, May). A systematic review of the correlates of violence against sex workers. American Journal of Public Health, 104(5), e42–e54. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2014.301909

31.

Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee (DMSC). (2022). https://durbar.org/

32.

English Collective of Prostitutes. (2022). Sex workers’ access to justice. International Journal of Gender, Sexuality and Law, 2, 394–411. https://doi.org/10.19164/ijgsl.v2i1.1267

33.

Evans

D. M.

Richter

M. L.

Katumba

M. I.

(2019). Policing of sex work in South Africa: The positive policing partnership approach. Journal of Community Safety and Well-Being, 4(4), 80–85. https://doi.org/10.35502/jcswb.107

34.

Farley

Barkan

(1998). Prostitution, violence, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Women & Health, 27(3), 37–49. https://doi.org/10.1300/J013v27n03_03

35.

Fehrenbacher

A. E.

Chowdhury

Ghose

Swendeman

(2016). Consistent condom use by female sex workers in Kolkata, India: Testing theories of economic insecurity, behavior change, life course vulnerability and empowerment. AIDS and Behavior, 20(10), 2332–2345. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-016-1412-z

36.

Fick

, & Sex Worker Education & Advocacy Taskforce (South Africa). (2005). Coping with stigma discrimination and violence: Sex workers talk about their experiences. SWEAT.

37.

Flood

(2010). Understanding phenomenology. Nurse Researcher, 17(2), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.7748/nr2010.01.17.2.7.c7457

38.

Gadekar

(2015). Socio-economic status and health challenges of female sex workers of Miraj town, India. International Research Journal of Social Sciences, 46(6), 68–71. https://doi.org/10.5958/2454-2687.2019.00014.52015

39.

Galtung

(1969). Violence, peace, and peace research. Journal of Peace Research, 6(3), 167–191. https://doi.org/10.1177/002234336900600301

40.

George

Sabarwal

Martin

(2011). Violence in contract work among female sex workers in Andhra Pradesh, India. The Journal of Infectious Diseases, 204(Suppl 5), 234–240. https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jir542

41.

Gerassi

(2015). A heated debate: Theoretical perspectives of sexual exploitation and sex work. Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, 42(4), 79–100. https://doi.org/10.15453/0191-5096.3938

42.

Giddens

(1984). The constitution of society: Outline of the theory of structuration. University of California Press.

43.

Giorgi

(1970). Toward phenomenologically based research in psychology. Journal of Phenomenological Psychology, 1(1), 75–98. https://doi.org/10.1163/156916270X00076

44.

Gupta

(2023). Empowering India's scheduled castes: Challenges, reservations, and pathways to progress.

45.

Gurnani

Beattie

T. S.

Bhattacharjee

, et al. (2011). An integrated structural intervention to reduce vulnerability to HIV and sexually transmitted infections among female sex workers in Karnataka state, south India. BMC Public Health, 11(1), 755. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-11-755

46.

Hycner

R. H.

(1985). Some guidelines for the phenomenological analysis of interview data. Human Studies, 8(3), 279–303. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00142995

47.

Iaisuklang

M. G.

Ali

(2017, Oct–Dec). Psychiatric morbidity among female commercial sex workers. Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 59(4), 465–470. https://doi.org/10.4103/psychiatry.IndianJPsychiatry_211_17

48.

International Institute for Population Sciences & International classification of functioning disability and health (IIPS & ICF). (2017). National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4), 2015–16. http://rchiips.org/nfhs/NFHS-4Reports/India.pdf

49.

Javalkar

Platt

Prakash

Beattie

Bhattacharjee

Thalinja

R. L. K. D.

Sangha

C. A. T. M.

Ramanaik

Collumbien

Davey

Moses

Jewkes

Isac

Heise

(2019). What determines violence among female sex workers in an intimate partner relationship? Findings from north Karnataka, south India. BMC Public Health, 19(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-019-6673-9

50.

Jayasree

A. K.

(2004). Searching for justice for body and self in a coercive environment: Sex work in Kerala, India. Reproductive Health Matters, 12(23), 58–67. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0968-8080(04)23111-1

51.

Jones

Karsten

(2003). Giddens's structuration theory and information systems research. MIS Quarterly, 27(1), 5–16.

52.

Karandikar

Frost

Gezinski

(2014). Patriarchy and gender-based violence: Experiences of female sex workers in India. International Journal of Social Work, 1(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.5296/ijsw.v1i1.5011

53.

Khalili

(2013). Thinking about violence. International Journal of Middle East Studies, 45(4), 791–794. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020743813000913

54.

Kolasi

(2020). Structuration theory. In Romaniuk

Apa

Marton

(Eds.), Palgrave encyclopedia of global security (pp. 1–4). Macmillan.

55.

Kotiswaran

(2017). Introduction to reader on sex work. King's College London Law School Research Paper, 2017–2037. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijlcj.2017.01.002

56.

Krantz

Garcia-Moreno

(2005). Violence against women. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health (1979–), 59(10), 818–821. https://doi.org/10.1136/jech.2004.022756

57.

Lafort

Greener

Roy

Greener

Ombidi

Lessitala

Haghparast-Bidgoli

Beksinska

Gichangi

Reza-Paul

Smit

J. A.

Chersich

Delva

(2016). Where do female sex workers seek HIV and reproductive health care and what motivates these choices? A Survey in 4 Cities in India, Kenya, Mozambique and South Africa. PLoS One, 11(8), e0160730. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0160730

58.

Lakkimsetti

(2014). “HIV is our friend”: Prostitution, biopower, and the state in postcolonial India. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 40(1), 201–226. https://doi.org/10.1086/676898

59.

Larkin

Thompson

A. R.

(2011). Interpretative phenomenological analysis in mental health and psychotherapy research. In Harper

Thompson

A. R.

(Eds.), Qualitative research methods in mental health and psychotherapy (pp. 99–116). Wiley.

60.

Leddy

Kerrigan

Kennedy

Mbwambo

Likindikoki

Underwood

(2018). “You already drank my beer, I can decide anything”: Using structuration theory to explore the dynamics of alcohol use, gender-based violence and HIV risk among female sex workers in Tanzania. Culture, Health & Sexuality, 20(12), 1409–1423. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691058.2018.1438667

61.

Lowman

(2000). Violence and the outlaw status of (street) prostitution in Canada. Violence Against Women, 6(9), 987–1011. https://doi.org/10.1177/10778010022182245

62.

Macioti

P. G.

Grenfell

Platt

(2017). Sex work and mental health. In T. Sanders, S. Cunningham, L. Platt, P. Grenfell, & P. G. Macioti (Eds.), Reviewing the occupational risks of sex workers in comparison to other “risky” professions. https://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/criminology/people/teela-sanders/BriefingPaperSexWorkandMentalHealth.pdf

63.

McCausland

Lobo

Lazarou

Hallett

Bates

Donovan

Selvey

L. A.

(2022). “It is stigma that makes my work dangerous”: Experiences and consequences of disclosure, stigma and discrimination among sex workers in Western Australia. Culture, Health & Sexuality, 24(2), 180–195. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691058.2020.1825813

64.

McPhee

R. D.

Poole

M. S.

Iverson

(2014). Structuration theory. In The Sage handbook of organizational communication: Advances in theory, research, and methods (Vol. 3, pp. 75–100).

65.

Miles

M. B.

Huberman

A. M.

(1994). Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook. Sage.

66.

Monto

Milrod

(2019). Perceptions of provider power among sex buyers. Sexualities, 23(4), 630–644. https://doi.org/10.1080/0092623X.2019.1615317

67.

Moran

Farley

(2019). Consent, coercion, and culpability: Is prostitution stigmatized work or an exploitive and violent practice rooted in sex, race, and class inequality? Archives of Sexual Behavior, 48(9), 2597–2601. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-018-1371-8

68.

Moreira

Rolo

Cardoso

(2016). Violence in the context of prostitution: Psychological impact. Psiquiatria, Psicologia & Justiça, 62–72. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260514532525 .

69.

Nagpal

Tajdar

Siddiqui

M. A.

Hassan

Gaur

Hashim

(2017). Beyond the brothels: A qualitative study of the destitute female sex workers of central Delhi red light area. Journal of Geographical Studies, 1(1), 26–36. https://doi.org/10.21523/gcj5.17010103

70.

National Center for Human Exploitation. (2022). 10 Reasons to oppose full decriminalization of prostitution. https://endsexualexploitation.org/wp-content/uploads/NCOSE_10-Reasons-to-Oppose-Full-Decrim-Prost_Web-Version-w-Citations_Flyer_FINAL_COR_5-6-24.pdf

71.

Nelson

E. E.

(2019). The lived experiences of violence and health-related risks among street sex workers in Uyo, Nigeria,Culture, Health & Sexuality, 22(9), 1018–1031. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691058.2019.1648872

72.

Okal

Chersich

M. F.

Tsui

Sutherland

Temmerman

Luchters

(2011). Sexual and physical violence against female sex workers in Kenya: A qualitative enquiry. AIDS Care, 23(5), 612–618. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540121.2010.525605

73.

O’Neill

(1997). Prostitute women now. In Scrambler

Scrambler

(Eds.), Rethinking prostitution (pp. 3–28). Routledge.

74.

Open Society Foundations. (2015). Ten reasons to decriminalise sex work. https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/publications/ten-reasons-decriminalize-sex-work

75.

Panchanadeswaran

Johnson

S. C.

Sivaram

Srikrishnan

A. K.

Zelaya

Solomon

V. F.

Celentano

(2010). A descriptive profile of abused female sex workers in India. Journal of Health, Population, and Nutrition, 28(3), 211–220. https://doi.org/10.3329/jhpn.v28i3.5546

76.

Panda

Sutar

Bakshi

(2015). Commercial sex work and commercial sex workers in India: A new perspective. In Mohapatra

(Ed.), Development issues in India: Policies and perspectives (1st ed., pp. 100–121). Mangalam Publishers & Distributors.

77.

Paul

(2020). Child marriage among girls in India: Prevalence, trends and socio-economic correlates. Indian Journal of Human Development, 14(2), 304–319. https://doi.org/10.1177/0973703020950263

78.

Pringle

Drummond

McLafferty

Hendry

(2011). Interpretative phenomenological analysis: A discussion and critique. Nurse Researcher, 18(3), 20–24. https://doi.org/10.7748/nr2011.04.18.3.20.c8459

79.

Qayyum

Iqbal

M. M. A.

Akhtar

Hayat

Janjua

I. M.

Tabassum

(2013). Causes and decisions of women’s involvement in prostitution and its consequences in Punjab, Pakistan. Academic Research International 4(5), 398–411.

80.

Rao

Gupta

Lokshin

Jana

(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. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0304-3878(03)00025-7

81.

Ratinthorn

Meleis

Sindhu

(2009). Trapped in circle of threats: Violence against sex workers in Thailand. Health Care for Women International, 30(3), 249–269. https://doi.org/10.1080/07399330902733281

82.

Reed

Gupta

Biradavolu

Devireddy

Blankenship

K. M.

(2010). The context of economic insecurity and its relation to violence and risk factors for HIV among female sex workers in Andhra Pradesh, India. Public Health Reports^®, 10(Suppl. 4), S4–S9. https://doi.org/10.1177/00333549101250S412

83.

Risman

B. J.

(2018). Gender as a social structure. In Risman

Froyum

Scarborough

(Eds.), Handbook of the sociology of gender. Handbooks of sociology and social research (pp. 449–459). Springer.

84.

Sagtani

R. A.

Bhattarai

Adhikari

B. R.

Baral

D. D.

Yadav

D. K.

Pokharel

P. K.

(2014). Understanding socio economic contexts of female sex workers in eastern Nepal. Nepal Medical College Journal: NMCJ, 16(2–4), 119–124.

85.

Sahni

Shankar

V. K.

(2011). The first pan-India survey of sex workers: A summary of preliminary findings. https://www.sangram.org/resources/Pan_India_Survey_of_Sex_workers.pdf

86.

Salam

Alim

Noguchi

(2006). Spousal abuse against women and its consequences on reproductive health: A study in the urban slums in Bangladesh. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 24(1), 83–94. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-005-0030-6

87.

Sanders

Scoular

Campbell

(2022). Sex work, hate crime and the criminal law. Journal of Criminal Law, 86(2), 109–112. https://doi.org/10.1177/00220183221086679

88.

Sarkar

Bal

Mukherjee

Chakraborty

Saha

Ghosh

Parsons

(2008). Sex-trafficking, violence, negotiating skill, and HIV infection in brothel-based sex workers of eastern India, adjoining Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh. Journal of Health, Population, and Nutrition, 26(2), 223–231. https://www.jstor.org/stable/23499494

89.

Shepp

O’Callaghan

Kirkner

Lorenz

Ullman

(2020). Sexual assault survivors who exchange sex: Identity, stigma, and informal responses from support providers. Affilia, 35(1), 105–128. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886109919866161

90.

Shokoohi

Khezri

Karamouzian

Mirzadeh

(2022). Reasons for entering into sex work in Iran: A comparison between women who initiated sex work as minors and those as adults. Sexuality & Culture, 26(1), 762–775. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-021-09918-6

91.

Sinha

(2015). Reasons for women’s entry into sex work: A case study of Kolkata, India. Sexuality & Culture, 64(2), 216–235. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-014-9256-z

92.

Smith

J. A.

Fieldsend

(2021). Interpretative phenomenological analysis. In Camic

P. M.

(Ed.), Qualitative research in psychology: Expanding perspectives in methodology and design (pp. 147–166). American Psychological Association.

93.

Spiers

Smith

J. A.

(2019). Interpretative phenomenological analysis. Sage Publications.

94.

Swain

S. N.

Saggurti

Battala

Verma

R. K.

Jain

A. K.

(2011). Experience of violence and adverse reproductive health outcomes, HIV risks among mobile female sex workers in India. BMC Public Health, 11(1), 43. https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6874-11-43

95.

Swathisha

Deb

(2022). Challenges faced by female commercial sex workers in Puducherry, India: A qualitative inquiry. Indian Journal of Gender Studies, 29(2), 258–272. https://doi.org/10.1177/09715215221082180

96.

Tuohy

Cooney

Dowling

Murphy

Sixsmith

(2013). An overview of interpretive phenomenology as a research methodology. Nurse Researcher, 19(6), 547–553. https://doi.org/10.7748/nr2013.07.20.6.17.e315

97.

United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF). (2023). Ending child marriage: A profile of child marriage in India. https://www.unicef.org/protection/unfpa-unicef-global-programme-end-child-marriage

98.

Wittington

(2015). Giddens, structuration theory and strategy as practice. In Damon Golsorkhi, Linda Rouleau, David Seidi, Eero Vaara (Eds.), Cambridge handbook of strategy as practice (pp. 109–126). Cambridge University Press.

99.

World Health Organization (WHO). (2024). Violence against women. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/violence-against-women

“I Was Scared That He Might Kill Me or Stab Me If I Said No”: Violence Against Sex Workers in Kolkata,India

Abstract

Keywords

Get full access to this article

References