Sexuality & Culture (2015) 19:216–235

DOI 10.1007/s12119-014-9256-z

ORIGINAL PAPER

Reasons for Women’s Entry into Sex Work: A Case

Study of Kolkata, India

Sunny Sinha

Published online: 4 December 2014

 Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014

Abstract Several studies have cited economic hardships or poverty as the main
reason for women’s entry into sex work in India. While this may be true, it is still a
vague reason. For better understanding and to develop meaningful intervention, we
need to dig deeper and find more specific reasons for women’s entry into sex work. In
addition, while most studies conducted among sex workers in India rely on survey-
based approaches to explore women’s reasons for entry into sex work, there have
been no studies to date which have used cultural biography to examine how sex work
becomes a livelihood option for women in Indian society. Based on the analysis of
the 46 short-life portraits and three life-history interviews collected from ‘flying’ or
mobile female sex workers over a period of 7 months (December 2009–July 2010) in
Kolkata, India, this paper examines the socio-cultural and economic factors that
influence women’s decisions to enter into sex work. This study found that women
choose sex work vis-à-vis other employment opportunities because it provides them
with more freedom and autonomy over their bodies, higher earnings, flexible hours
of work, and much flexibility to manage their dual responsibilities of a nurturer and
provider. Because of this complex structure of causation, HIV prevention programs
must address the larger issues of workplace sexual harassment, minimum living
wage and child day care policy to disincentivize women’s entry into the sex industry.

Keywords Sex work
HIV prevention
Entry into sex work
Trafficking

Introduction

This paper aims to examine the wide range of socio-cultural and economic factors
influencing ‘flying’ or mobile female sex workers’ decisions to enter into sex work

S. Sinha (&)
Marywood University, Scranton, PA, USA
e-mail: [email protected]

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in Kolkata, India. Sex work is a highly stigmatized and risky activity, especially for
women in India. Indian women’s ‘izzat’ or honor is tied to her sexuality, which
means families gain or lose ‘izzat’ through women’s sexual conduct. As per the
gendered ideology of honor, i.e. ‘izzat’, a woman is the repository of honor as a
daughter, wife, and mother, while a man is in charge of regulating her sexuality.
Therefore, strict control over women’s sexuality is exercised by putting restrictions
on her physical mobility. Women are required to be submissive and passive about
their sexual desires and maintain virginity until marriage. The patriarchal weapon
used to exercise control over all women is that of the ‘‘whore stigma’’—defined by
Gail Pheterson (1990) as ‘‘social and legal branding of women who are suspected of
being or acting like prostitutes’’. This notion of honor or ‘izzat’ has also resulted in
honor crimes in certain parts of India, which Abu Odeh defines as the killing of a
woman by her father or brother for engaging in, or being suspected of engaging in,
sexual practices before or outside marriage, and includes different types of manifest
violent behavior against her like assault, confinement, imprisonment, interference
with choice in marriage, labeling as minor or insane, and even murder (as cited in
Vishwanath and Palakonda 2011, p. 389). Such extreme forms of violence, although
not a living reality for all women, negatively impact the minds of young girls and
women by creating a climate of fear and terror. However, very few studies have
examined how sex work becomes a livelihood option for women, especially when
the women are fully aware of the risks and dangers associated with being involved
in the sex industry.
Drawing data from a field-based ethnographic research, which used ‘cultural
biography’ (Frank 2000), a method that combines participant observation (defining
tool of ethnography) and life-history interviews, this paper fills this gap in the
literature by extending our understanding of the realities that shape women’s
decision to enter into sex work in India. In addition, the findings shed light on the
polarized global debate on sex work which either regards sex work to be a
legitimate work enjoying the same recognition, protection and rights as those
bestowed on other jobs, or views sex work as an oppressive and exploitative system
in which women’s bodies are exploited by men. The findings can be used to develop
meaningful HIV prevention programs aimed at disincentivizing women’s entry into
sex work by looking into women’s need for child care responsibilities, alternate
employment opportunities with better pay and working hours, and legal counseling
to protect their human right to feel safe and secure in any given environment.

Background and Literature Review

It is estimated that India has 1 million female sex workers (Saggurti et al. 2011a, b).
Kolkata, located in the eastern part of India, is home to the largest concentration of
sex workers residing in brothels. One study reports 28,000 (Irvine 1997, as cited in
Pardasani 2005), while another study estimates 50,000–100,000 women to be
engaged in commercial sex work in Kolkata alone (AIIPH 1993, as cited in Evans
and Lambert 1997). Due to the geographical proximity with neighboring countries
like Nepal and Bangladesh, sites known internationally for human trafficking, and

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the north-eastern Indian states of Manipur and Meghalaya, recognized for high
prevalence of drug use and drug trafficking, the sex industry proliferates within the
region. In addition, scholars have argued that rapidly growing levels of migration,
poverty, extensive globalization, privatization, and structural adjustment policies
adopted by the government have forced a significant number of women to compete
with men in the labor market, but due to limited employment opportunities and
omnipresence of workplace sexual harassment, sex work becomes a survival
mechanism for vulnerable women with poor literacy skills and lack of family
support (Gupta 2004; The Lawyers Collective 2003).
A majority of the women in sex work operate clandestinely through non-brothel-
based settings (Dandona et al. 2005). Recent epidemiological studies have found
flying or mobile female sex workers in India to be a group with a high risk of HIV
infection, as they report high rates of inconsistent use of condoms with clients or
regular partners (Dandona et al. 2005; Saggurti et al. 2012; Halli et al. 2010). In
comparison to their counterparts residing in brothels, they have no fixed place or
time of operation and are hesitant to seek membership of support groups or access
the HIV prevention services due to the fear of ‘whore stigma’ (Pheterson 1990)
which results from sheer association with the targeted HIV prevention programs or
sex worker support groups. However, most HIV risk-related studies conducted
among sex workers in this region have remained focused on visible groups within
the sex worker population, such as women residing in brothels (Pardasani 2005).
Very limited attention has been given to invisible groups of sex workers such as
flying female sex workers, who are a highly marginalized group of sex workers.
Numerous studies have reported substantial differences in the sex work
environment, socio-demographic characteristics and HIV risk behaviors across
diverse groups of sex workers (Dandona et al. 2005; Blanchard et al. 2005). Yet, it is
to be noted that the reasons for women’s entry into sex work are typically assumed
in the sex work literature to be the same across varied sub-groups of sex workers.
Further, most studies tend to lay emphasis on economic necessity or financial
hardship as the primary reason for women’s entry into sex work in India. Scholars
explain women’s economic necessity as resulting from factors such as chronic
poverty, divorce, widowhood or separation, family debt, lack of education, early
marriage, limited economic opportunities or lack of family support (Chattopadhyay
et al. 1994; Devine et al. 2010). While this may be true, a recent study based on in-
depth interviews with mobile female sex workers in four Indian states, Maharashtra,
Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh, found that a variety of reasons tend to
influence women’s entry into the sex industry, such as economic conditions,
negative social circumstances, force, traditional family activity and out of own
pleasure/choice (Saggurti et al. 2011a, b). Similarly, another study conducted in
Nagaland reported that women’s entry into sex work is through four different
pathways: economic, drugs, coercion, and pleasure (Devine et al. 2010). Both these
studies suggest that multiple reasons could influence women’s entry into sex work,
and that the HIV vulnerability of women would differ considerably based on their
reported reasons or motivations for entry into sex work. For instance, Devine et al.
(2010) found that women who reported pleasure as their reason for entry into sex
work were in a relatively advantageous position compared with women who entered

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into sex work due to coercion, drugs, or economic reasons, as they were much in
control over their lives, as they are in a position to pick and choose their clients.
While these studies provide valuable information on the reasons and motivations
influencing women’s entry into sex work in India, the extent to which these findings
can be used to inform program design is limited because women’s reasons for entry
into sex work are not the same across different states, and the political,
geographical, economic and socio-sexual landscapes play a critical role in shaping
their HIV vulnerability. Therefore, there is a need for more localized research using
ethnographic methods ,because most studies conducted among sex workers in India
tend to rely on cross-sectional survey-based methods to examine women’s reasons
for entry into sex work, despite mounting evidence that data derived using the
survey-based approach suffers from social-desirability bias. In addition, it is
typically assumed in these studies that women’s entry into sex work is a one-time
decision, when several scholars have argued that women’s entry into sex work
occurs on multiple occasions and ‘quit–re-entry–quit cycles’ are a common trend to
be observed among sex workers (Manopaiboon et al. 2003; Orchard et al. 2012).
The implication for HIV prevention programs is that reasons for entry into sex work
tend to vary during the course of women’s life as a sex worker and therefore follow-
up interventions with women are needed to assess their vulnerability at different
points of their life and to cater appropriately to their needs.
HIV/AIDS is a serious problem in India. It is home to the world’s third highest
number of people living with HIV/AIDS, after South Africa and Nigeria (UNAIDS
2010). As per National AIDS Control Organization(NACO) estimates, there are
about 5.2 million people living with HIV infection in India, with 40 % of the
infections reported to be among women (Saharabuddhe and Mehendale 2008). The
predominant mode of HIV transmission is through heterosexual contact and
commercial sex work plays an important role in the spread of the HIV/AIDS disease
in the country. Despite the general awareness about HIV/AIDS in society and Indian
government efforts to reach out to sex workers using a targeted approach to HIV
prevention, the HIV prevalence rates among women in sex work range from 40 to
60 % in some parts of the country (Amin 2004). Few recent studies based on in-
depth interviews with sex workers in India have emphasized the need for HIV
prevention programs to take into consideration the complexity of the pre-entry
contexts of these women as it directly influences their ability to engage in health-
seeking behaviors (Saggurti et al. 2012; Devine et al. 2010; Gupta et al. 2011).
However, there have been no studies to date that have used cultural biography to
examine women’s reasons for entry into sex work. Departing from structured
interviews and survey-based approaches typically used in sex work research in
India, this study uses cultural biography—a method that is designed to explore the
reciprocal relationships between individual personality and socio-cultural and
structural–environmental factors that influence women’s decisions to enter into sex
work. This method diminishes the deterministic view of the individual by treating
individuals as having power and agency to influence their cultural environment. It
pays particular attention to heterogeneity by taking into the account the individual
and the contexts to which they belong. The most important strength of using this
approach is that it makes possible the inclusion of women’s voices in the discourses

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surrounding sex work, as their voices often go unrecognized and silenced amidst the
epidemiological experts, HIV-related practitioners, and policy experts.

Methods

This paper is based on data from a larger field-based ethnographic research

conducted among mobile female sex workers in Kolkata, India, from December
2009 to July 2010. In particular, the study used ‘cultural biography’, a method that
combines participant observation and life-history interviews to examine how flying
female sex workers perceive their risk of HIV in the context of other risk
experiences in their lives. However, for this paper, the author relies on the 46 short-
life interviews, 3 in-depth life histories and field-based observations to examine the
motivations for entry into sex work among flying female sex workers in Kolkata,
India.

Data Collection Procedure

All data comprising short-life portraits, field-based observations and life-history

interviews was collected over a period of 7 months by the author. In the first stage
(1–4 months), 46 short-life portraits were collected and in the second stage
(5–7 months), 3 in-depth life histories of women were collected. The selection for
short-life portraits and life-history informants was made using maximum-variation
sampling approach (Miles and Huberman 1994), in order to incorporate the
heterogeneous experiences and perspectives of diverse groups of sex workers, such
as women who were illiterate versus literate, recent versus longtime members of the
sex industry, young versus old, sex worker support group members versus non-
members, and from diverse non-brothel-based settings. Although a purposive
sampling strategy, it aims at including all extreme viewpoints within the population
by maximizing the diversity of the sample. For instance, a woman who is literate
might have a different motivation to enter into sex work versus a woman who is
illiterate. Similarly, women who are married with responsibilities of raising two girl
children might have different reasons to enter into sex work versus women who are
married with responsibilities of raising a boy child.
Prior to beginning the process of collecting the short-life interviews, the
technique of participant observation was used to build a relationship of trust and
rapport with the project staff, peer educators and women outreached in the field.
Spending a considerable amount of time observing and assisting the NGO staff
carry out the sexual health outreach services during the health clinic hours created
the space to interact and bond with the peer educators, who are sex workers
themselves employed within the project and who play a critical role in linking the
organization and the sex work community with HIV prevention messages and
resources, such as condoms and sexual health check-ups. Traveling along with the
peer educators to the varied solicitation sites of the NGOs, and assisting them in
conducting their outreach services in the field, gave the opportunity to understand
the needs of the women and the factors that initiate their entry into sex work.

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Repeated interview methodology (Wax and Shapiro 1956) was used to reduce the
social-desirability bias, and also to check for any inconsistencies and fabrications
within their narratives as the relationship between respondent and the researcher
developed with frequent encounters. The 46 short-life portraits were collected in the
form of contact summary sheets (Miles and Huberman 1994), which included the
following information: demographic questions (age, marital status, education, brief
history of employment, duration of sex work, number of children, membership of
organization); organization of sex work (independent, through intermediaries);
family background; risk and safety issues faced during work; HIV risk perceptions;
and reasons for entry into sex work.
The interviews were semi-structured and carried out keeping the contact
summary sheets as a guide. However, the questions were not administered in a
standard order. The interviews began with the question, ‘How did you get to the
place you are now?’ This open-ended question allowed women to discuss several
factors that resulted in their choice of sex work as their livelihood option. The
interviews were conducted in Bengali or Hindi languages, spoken fluently by the
author. Verbal informed consent of the participants was obtained prior to each
formal interview. The purpose of the research was explained to the participants each
time they were interviewed and they were given time to seek any clarifications

Table 1 Socio-demographic characteristics of the participants

Socio-demographic characteristics Distribution in Sample (n = 46)

Age (at time of interview) Range: 20–50 years

Mean: 34.43
SD: 7.00
Marital status (at time of interview) Married and living with spouse: 18
Unmarried and living with a partner: 2
Married but abandoned/separated: 18
Married now divorced: 2
Married now widowed: 6
Education (at time of interview) Illiterate (no schooling): 32 (69.56 %)
Less than primary education: 11 (23.91 %)
Primary (10th grade completed): 3 (6.52 %)
No. of children (at time of interview) Mean: 1.98
SD: 3.00
Duration in sex work (at time of interview) Range: 1–15 years
Mean: 7.57
Employed as peer educators (at time of interview) Yes: 28 (60.86 %)
No: 18 (39.13 %)
Age at marriage (at time of interview) Range: 11–18 years
Mean: 14.8 years
SD = 7

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 Table 2 Socio-demographic characteristics of the 3 life-history informants
222

Socio-demographic Shristi Geetanjali Trupti

characteristics

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Age 28 years 31 years 40? years
Education Illiterate 10th standard Illiterate
Age of entry into sex work 14 years 26 years 19 years
Caste Scheduled caste Upper caste Scheduled caste (lower caste)
Marital status Divorced Separated Widowed
Religion Muslim Hindu/Christian Hindu
Age of marriage 14 years 16 years 14 years
Family background Raised by single mother with 3 other Raised by biological mother and step- Raised by biological mother and step-
siblings, illiterate mother father, with two of her biological father, with two step-sisters and one
sisters step-brother
Current living situation 11-year-old son resides in an orphanage. Lives separately with 2 children (13- Lives alone in a rented house and takes
She resides in the brothel and year-old daughter, and 16-year-old care of her granddaughter and second
shoulders the responsibility of her old son) daughter’s family from time to time.
mother and son She is a mother of two daughters, who
are currently married.
Brief history of employment Started working as a maid at the age of 8 Worked as a sales representative in a Started working as a maid at the age of 8
Was introduced to the brothels at the age medicine store Worked in Mumbai brothels for less than
of 13 Worked in a jute factory preparing jute a year
Worked in the brothels 1995–2000 bags From Mumbai brothels to Gujarat
Worked as a peer educator in a HIV Worked as a maid brothels for 9 years
prevention project of a local NGO Entered into sex work in 2004 and Left sex trade and started poultry
from 2000 to 2009 operates through hotels or lodges farming and agriculture work for
Back into brothels 5 years
Back into street-based sex work
Type of sex work settings Began work in brothels, moved out of Solicits clients from streets and provide Worked in brothels but currently solicits
brothels and worked for 5 years from services in hotels and red-light areas. clients from streets and provide
non-brothel-based settings In future, wants to own an independent services in nearby hotels or red-light
space and provide services from home areas
S. Sinha
Reasons for Women’s Entry into Sex Work 223

concerning the research project. To maintain privacy and confidentiality of the

participants, the researchers have made use of pseudonyms. This study was
approved by the Institutional Review Board of the University of South Carolina,
Columbia. The participants received a remuneration, which ranged from $2 to $10
depending on the amount of time allotted to the project.

Study Participants

The participants of this study were accessed through the sexual health outreach
projects of three different local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) reaching
out to ‘flying’ female sex workers in Kolkata, India. The NGOs receive funding
from National AIDS Control Organization (NACO), a division of the Indian
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, providing leadership to nationwide HIV/
AIDS control programs. A majority of the women in this study were above the
age of 30 and were employed within the NGO’s sexual health outreach projects
as peer educators. Table 1 provides the socio-demographic characteristics of the
46 short-life portraits, and Table 2 illustrates the characteristics of the 3 in-depth
life histories. The age of the participants ranged from 22 to 50 years
(mean = 34.43; mode = 40; SD = 7.00). The majority of participants reported
being one-time married, but were either divorced, widowed, or separated at the
time of the interview. The number of children for each participants ranged from
1 to 4 (mean = 1.98; SD = 3:00) which indicates that pressures of marriage and
motherhood are huge for Indian women. As many as 67.4 % (n = 31) of those
interviewed reported being illiterate, 26.1 % (n = 12) completed 9th standard or
less, and 6.5 % (n = 3) had completed 10th grade.

Data Analysis

The data was analyzed using the qualitative research software, Nvivo 9. First, all
audio-taped short-life portraits and life-history interviews were translated and
then transcribed verbatim into English by the author who speaks Hindi, English
and Bengali fluently. After the interview transcript was prepared, the copies of
the transcript were reviewed for accuracy and appropriate representation of the
respondents’ thoughts by listening to the tape and matching it against the
transcript and, wherever necessary, corrections were made. A line-by-line coding
was undertaken. Each transcript was read and coded for the prominent themes
emerging for reasons for entry into sex work. The themes were refined or new
domains added as new data were analyzed and new patterns emerged. The
question ‘what additional insights about women’s reasons for entry into sex work
do we get from the 3 life-history narratives’ was used to further deepen the
analysis that emerged from the 46 short-life portraits about women’s entry into
sex work.

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224 S. Sinha

Results

Poverty or ‘Hungry Stomach’

Consistent with studies that have discussed poverty or financial hardships as reasons
for entry into sex work, this study also found that most of the women grew up in
poor families, struggling with basic survival needs of food, clothing and shelter. In
the first encounter, most of the women tried to depict themselves as helpless and
innocent victims who had fallen prey to the sex industry. For instance, one would
repeatedly hear comments such as ‘‘hungry stomach,’’ ‘‘it is a crime to be poor,’’
‘‘we are poor people’’ and ‘‘dire need of money’’ when posed with the question
‘‘how did you get to this place’’? Given that sex work is a stigmatized profession, it
is quite likely that women would want to evoke sympathy/empathy from the
outsiders. However, with prolonged stay in the field and repeated encounters with
women on varied occasions and at different venues, the narratives of women
changed, especially when a relationship of trust and rapport was built up. It was then
that women would speak of sex work as a ‘constrained choice’ arrived at in a given
circumstance. They spoke of themselves as ‘‘bold’’ and ‘‘brave’’ in order to survive
the system. For instance, Trupti, a 40-year-old life-history informant, in the very
first meeting said that it was due to her husband’s accident and her in-laws ill-
treatment towards her that she was forced to choose this work. This narrative
changed after several meetings with her and getting to know her family and
relatives, and paying a home visit. During one of the home visits, she retracted from
the earlier account and said:
I should not have lied to you. I got into this work soon after my marriage
because my husband was not good. He was a ‘criminal’ type of man. A ‘girl’
offered me a work. I knew she wouldn’t give me any ‘good’ work. I don’t
know how to read and write. What job can she offer me that will pay well? I
went with her to Mumbai.
Similarly, in the first meeting, Saraswati, one of my key informants employed as
peer educator in the NGO’s sexual health outreach project, communicated that she
was trafficked into sex work, but her narrative changed after several meetings. She
talked about her poor family background, early marriage, marital problems, sole
responsibility of rearing her two young children and limited work opportunities as
reasons for choosing sex work as a livelihood option.

Lack of ‘‘Bhaalo Kaaj’’ (Decent Employment)

For most of the women in my study, sex work was reported as their last resort. By
‘bhaalo/decent’ employment, women meant work opportunities in which they do
not have to face sexual harassment. As illustrated in the narratives of several women
below, most of the participants have sought jobs as housemaids, nurses or helpers in
construction sites or hotels, but are faced with the demands for repeated sexual
favors by the employers/colleagues leaving them with a feeling of being violated of
their basic human rights of dignity and respect:

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Reasons for Women’s Entry into Sex Work 225

Didi [sister], I used to work in the construction site. If I don’t provide sexual
favors to the contractors, they will not hire me for the job. I have to dance to
their tunes; otherwise I’d lose my job. (Meera, 35 years)
….I used to work as a maid in people’s houses but there too the boys would
want to do ‘‘it’’ [have sex] with me. I didn’t have much to do then and I
decided to choose this path for myself… (Dharna, 25 years)
The employer will pick you for the job (daily wage labor) only when he thinks
he can mold you as per his wishes. They often pick newcomers since the older
women will resist their demands for sexual favor and complain to the Mahila
Samiti (a women’s forum)… I do not feel good doing this when that is not
what I was hired for. I too have some respect (Jharna, 30 years)
While it is widely believed that poor women who are illiterate are subjected to
sexual harassment by their employers/colleagues, two of the participants in this
study who had completed their 10th grade exams (senior secondary education)
spoke about being subjected to repeated sexual harassment at their workplace. For
instance, in the narrative of Trishna, it is made evident that byreporting incidents of
workplace sexual harassment women run the risk of losing their job. In addition, to
seek a raise in their pay or promotion to higher rank, women have to sexually please
their employers:
First, I used to work in DTDC (Desk to Desk Courier) office, distributing
letters. I used to dress shabbily. One of my colleagues advised me that if I
dress up properly, I would get promoted and my work will be recognized. So
one day I dressed properly. I wore a sleeveless blouse and went to office. My
boss might have liked me. He asked my colleague to arrange a meeting with
me outside the office. So I was asked by her to visit Meghdoot Hotel. I went
there and then, when my boss started misbehaving; I made a fuss and
somehow escaped that place. After a few days, I was served a dismissal letter
from office stating that my work was not satisfactory. I was then staying with
my mother because my husband used to beat me up. I had two sons to take
care of, so my mother insisted that I take up some sort of job. So I then joined
the nursing home, to become a nurse. I was told by the head of the nursing
home that I did not have any practical knowledge. So he arranged for nurse
jobs in one house. In the night, I was sexually molested by the son who hired
me. He tucked Rs.1000 ($50) in my blouse. Next day in the morning, I visited
the office to inform about the incident. The boss ignored my complaint and
instead took Rs.600 ($30) from me. My mother who heard this incident
created a scene in front of the office about this. After this incident, I took up a
clerical job in an office wherein I moved files across the tables. The office boss
started to keep me back late on some pretext or the other. He used to give me
extra money for late hours. So I thought if I have to be do this (sex work) in all
other places, why not directly do it? (Trishna, 48 years, 10th grade)
Similarly, in the case of Geetanjali, a life-history informant, she tried working in
a medicine job, a sales job, book stores, cook and also as house-maid but, as made

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evident in the narrative below, the reasons that propelled her to choose sex work as
her livelihood option was the common experience of sexual harassment. No matter
what job she picked, she was asked for sexual favors from her employers/
colleagues:
When I left the medicine job, I was not getting any work. My situation was
really bad. Wherever I used to go, I would not like the place and people would
talk rubbish with me. Then I used to feel bad. Why should I do this type of
work? I have respect too. In the end, I got tired and got into this
‘‘line.’’(Geetanjali, 31 years, 10th grade)
The above narratives of women clearly suggest that, irrespective of women’s
education background, there are a wide range of jobs available for women in Indian
society but repeated experiences with discrimination, exploitation and oppression at
workplace makes these women believe that sex work as an livelihood option gives
them more control and autonomy over their lives.

Autonomy/Freedom Through Sex Work

Quite a few women reported that, in comparison to other jobs, sex work provides
them with more control and autonomy over their lives. For instance, in the life-
history narratives of Geentanjali, she illustrates that, in doing other jobs, which
required long hours of work; her children went neglected and she struggled to meet
the expectations of being a mother as well as the provider for the family.
…. I have entered this ‘line’ (sex work) but I get to eat my meals at least. I
worked in the book store but I never got to eat my meals. I would eat ‘‘chana
chatpati’’ (peas & bread) and 1 glass of ‘pudina’ (mint) water in summer to
quench my thirst and hunger. I would survive the whole day on this and would
board the train at 9:30 in the night. Why was I working so hard? Of course, for
the children. Earlier they were neglected and were staying alone while I was
working in the offices. They suffered a lot of beatings from my mother;
especially my daughter. My mother would feed all rubbish in my children’s
minds. She would tell them ‘‘your mother has gone bad. It is going to be night;
she has not got back home. She has gone elsewhere’’. As a result, my
daughter’s mind is running in all bad direction these days.’’ Is it good to feed
such thoughts in young children? Now I am with them the whole morning. We
get to eat together. Really, I am much happy now. (Geetanjali, 31 years, 10th
standard)

Less/Flexible Hours and Higher Pay in Sex Work

Quite a few women reported that, unlike other jobs, sex work provides them with
higher pay and involves fewer hours of work and gives them a lot of flexibility to
manage their dual responsibility of being the provider/nurturer for their family:
I worked at the construction site building roads or with wall painting work. I
also worked as a domestic maid in several households. I realized that, in order

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to retain my job, I got to provide sexual favors to the employers and people I
work with, so why not directly do this (sex work) and earn more money? I get
only Rs.100 ($ 2) toiling all day in the sun and then you are required to fulfill
their hunger. (Saraswati, 35 years, Illiterate).
I made incense sticks, and did the hem work in sarees. I earned 4 rupees for
making 1 kg incense sticks. It is highly laborious but does not pay well. I was
in dire need of money. One man said he will arrange work for me. He got me
this work and when I got the money in hand, I got habituated. What to do, I
didn’t have any other option.’ (Payal, 32 years).
Shristi, a life-history informant, who had quit the sex industry and began working
as a peer educator in a non-governmental organization regrets making that decision,
as the earnings from the job were not sufficient to take care of her basic needs:
I think working in the organization was not bad but the fact that I left sex work
to join that project was a wrong decision. I could have earned a lot if I had
worked in both places. I have a lot of problems and I am lagging behind with
regards to finances. I should have continued both the works. I would have
earned quite a bit. I left everything and chose to work with the organization
hoping that they would support me in my times of distress. Whenever I am
faced with a crisis situation, then money becomes the deciding factor. At the
moment, I realize that I made the wrong decision by leaving sex work. I
should have continued both. I would have a solid amount by now in my
account. I understand that, by working in the project, I am getting educated
about things I don’t know. I could have used this knowledge in my ‘‘practice’’
but the fact that I left sex work to join this organization with the hope that they
would support me in times of my difficulty was wrong. The way the
organization behaved with me, I was forced to leave the organization’s work
and got back to this path again. Everybody gave me false hopes, but when I
really needed help, they backed out…I live here so that I can ‘‘fulfill’’ one
‘‘main’’ requirement of my life, which is money. I am able to fulfill this
‘‘requirement’’ 99 %…

‘Failed’ Marriages

Most of the women in this study reported experiencing intimate-partner violence

soon after their marriage in the forms of husband’s infidelity or extra-marital affair,
drug and alcohol use by husbands, wife-beatings, neglect, and abuse. As per the
socio-cultural norms of marriage, women are expected to live with their husbands
and consider their husband’s home their own; parents no longer have the social
responsibility to provide for their daughters. Therefore, when marriages fail women
are pretty much on their own, as illustrated in the following narratives:
I was facing a lot of problems [financial] after seeking divorce. For instance, I
have a son. He is 10 years old. I want to put him in a good school, but to put
him in a good school, one needs to have good money too. Now I have to earn
this money. I am doing something but it is not happening. I know a lot of

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craftwork. Despite that, I am not able to run my family. Now I live with my
parents. I am doing this secretly and trying to give my son a life. (Lipika,
27 years)
He left me when I was carrying my 3-month-old daughter in my stomach. I
have no contact with him since then. I have heard he has married someone
else. I have no contact with him since last 7 years. I had nowhere to go. If I go
to the police, they would do nothing. Instead, you’ll end up spending more
money. (Harini, 30 years)
My husband stays elsewhere. He does not come home regularly. I have two
children. He has married someone else over there. (Sheila, 25 years)
My husband left me because I was illiterate. He left me after giving me two
small children. (Swarna, 40 years)
Quite a few women expressed that, although married, their husband’s income
were too poor and they had little control over his income:
My husband has a poor income and it is not sufficient to run the whole family.
If I would have entered this line when I was young, I would have got my own
house and earned a lot. I entered very late (Rose, 40 years, illiterate)
I came into this ‘line’ due to financial hardships. My husband was not good.
My husband would not give me any living expenses. He was not good. That’s
why, how will I save my family in such circumstances? That is why I had to
walk this path. Then also I use to hide from him and do some ‘kaaj’ [sex
work]. (Priti, 39 years, peer educator)
I have to feed my two girls who are currently being taken care of by my
parents. I was forced to seek out for job when my elder daughter shared with
me what other kids in her school tell her. You know what she tells me I felt
really bad to know when I heard what other children in school tell my
daughter. They tell her ‘‘why do you stare at us greedily, why don’t you ask
your father for some money to bring to school.’’ My husband is least bothered
about my children’s education, marriage and future. I need to get the girls
married and save money for it. So I need a job. ‘Didi’ [sister], he gives me 30
rupees every day. What can I do with 30 rupees? That does not even meet the
cost of 1 kg rice. Do you know how much 1 kg rice costs? It costs 18 rupees.
How can I manage in 30 rupees? (Chulbuli, 27 years, married, Illiterate)

Peer Influence

Quite a few women said that they got into sex work seeing their friends/partners
doing this work. For instance, Meenati’s narrative illustrates that women need to
maintain virginity, and sexual relationship outside of marriage is strictly prohibited.
In cases where women do admit to be sexually involved with their ex-boyfriends,
she is attributed the label of being a ‘whore’ in society:

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I am not into this work. I had a boyfriend. I was only involved with him and no
one else, but when I spoke about this to this friend of mine. She said ‘If you do
it with him or anyone else, then it is the same thing.
Similarly, Kaya, a 38-year-old woman, employed as a peer educator got into sex
work after seeing her girlfriend:
I had a friend who did this work. The way I am telling you about my family
she knew everything about my family. After knowing everything- every
human being desires for a friend. So like a friend she tells me, ‘you are going
through a lot of difficulty, you need a friend.’ So with this friend I got another
friend. With the help of a girlfriend, I found a boyfriend. I talked with him
frequently. This continued for a while and I fell in love with him. I fell in love.
From him, I learned all this. I learned to earn money. I accompanied that
friend everywhere and I learned this. One day I went with him, he gave me
some money. Those were my difficult times. He gave me Rs. 400 ($8). With
that I fed my son and daughter. I provide them all they need. With that money,
I was able to help but I never cheated him.
Similarly, another woman talked about how she was convinced into doing this
work by her neighbor:
I had a boyfriend. He cheated me. I wouldn’t go and stand in the ‘market. I
knew this woman who stays close to my house. She knew what I was going
through. So one day I went to her house and she said to me ‘I see that you are
going through a tough time. I have a job which will pay you Rs.1000 ($20) to
Rs.2000 ($40). This is what you got you do.’ I didn’t have any option then so I
agreed to the offer she made. But I really want to stay alone. I don’t want to do
all this anymore. I just don’t like all this anymore. (Roma, 41 years)

Obstacles to Education

The findings from the short-life portraits suggests that it was typical for girls to first
take care of the domestic chores, such as cooking, cleaning and taking care of their
younger siblings or sick parents, before they leave for school, which resulted in
losing interest in studies:
My mother had a big operation. Her stomach was cut open. Her womb had
rotten and they found stones in her gall bladder. I had to look after my mother
and then I couldn’t give the exams, and couldn’t study. They got me married
later. I couldn’t study anymore. (Madhuri, 28 years)
However, the in-depth life histories of Shristi, Trupti and Geetanjali shed light on
the socio-cultural practice of early and arranged marriages in Indian society.
Further, it also illustrates how these women’s childhood experiences of neglect,
abuse and sufferings have a negative impact on their psychological health and well-
being, which in turn affects the decisions they make on their daily basis:

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230 S. Sinha

My mother had arranged this marriage. I could not understand why she
arranged my marriage so early. Nobody wanted to know if I was okay with
this marriage. I was told my marriage was being arranged and I got to marry
this person. At that age, I didn’t understand what marriage meant. I was
14 years when I got married. I didn’t understand the ‘meaning’ of marriage. I
didn’t know the ‘meaning’ of ‘sex’ then. (Shristi, 28 years, HIV positive)
I was given marriage at 14 years of age. I was my daughter’s age but I looked
much bigger than my age. I was about to give the exams for 10th grade in
school. I was during my exams the matrimonial alliance was arranged. They
saw me and immediately asked for the marriage date to be fixed. My marriage
date was fixed but my mother objected saying ‘‘I can’t give her marriage so
soon because she wants to complete her studies.’’ I too said ‘‘I do not want to
marry now and would like to complete my studies.’’ But my maternal aunt and
uncles made me understand. He said ‘‘My daughter you go through so much
difficulties while living in this house. You stay here in so much pain. Your
mother verbally abuses you and is also tensed because of you. I am sure you
too want to live your life and do something that you like doing. I said ‘‘Yes, I
do.’’ He said ‘Well, you can do anything once you go to your husband’s
place.’’ You get married daughter. So I agreed to the wedding. My mother
would say ‘‘Because of you I am going through all this. If you got married, I
would get some relief but who will marry you? Your sisters are so good-
looking, they got married, but who will marry you. You are so ugly.’’ Being a
mother, she would speak like this about me. She would say a lot. I would feel
really bad and wonder why being a mother she speaks like this to me. I don’t
want to get married. At that time I thought I am getting married and will never
go back to my mother’s house. I thought if I got married, I will be able to
continue my studies with the help of my husband. I didn’t know much then
about marriage. (Geetanjali, 31 years)
At that time, my marriage was arranged at the age 14 or 15 years. I was quite
good-looking too. One day my mother beat me a lot. My clothes were torn by
her and I couldn’t get out of the house. It was then I went to this lady’s house
in the neighborhood and was crying there. It was then this boy, my husband,
approached me and said ‘‘I want to marry you. Your mother beats you every
day. I saw that and I feel very bad for you. Your clothes are all torn now. You
should get married to me.’’ In that ‘‘moment’’ it seemed like the best solution
to escape from my mother’s beatings. I agreed to marry him. My landlady and
others in the neighborhood also convinced me by saying ‘‘The boy is not bad.
You get married to him.’’ They too didn’t know much. My aunt said ‘‘Trupti,
get married. When you’ll have ‘shaka-pola’ (conch shell and red coral bangles
worn by Bengali women as symbols of their marital status) and ‘sindoor’ (red
powder/vermilion worn by married women), people won’t ‘‘torture’’ you
much. If anything untoward happens in the future, you can always work in
people’s houses as a maid and live. This is the same thing that my ‘‘boi di’’
(sister-in-law) said. So I thought getting married was the right thing to do. At
least, I will no longer be seen as a single woman. At that time, I didn’t

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understand these things. Now having gone to several places, I understand life
better. (Trupti, 40 years)
Quite a few women reported disruptions from education because of the
preference given to boys within families. As made evident in Trupti’s narrative,
girls are trained early on to prioritize the needs of the male members in the family
over their own.
I used to go to school. My mother delivered twin brothers. Then I couldn’t go
to school because we had to think of brothers’ future (Trupti, 40 years)
Several women who were mothers of daughters spoke of the demand for ‘dahej’
(dowry) and wedding expenses as a cause of their financial worry and putting them
in a double bind of investing in their education or marriage, especially when women
derive social status through marriage.

Discussion

Similar to the findings of an ethnographic study conducted by Petro (2010) which

explored the circumstances in which women feel compelled to enter the industry,
this study found that, although most women enter into the profession for economic
gain, money is not the only reason why women choose sex work and continue to
remain in the industry. If that was the case, all poor women would be sex workers
(Chattopadhyay et al. 1994). Instead, this study found that women entered into sex
work for multiple, interrelated reasons. For instance, the short-life portraits of
women and the in-depth life histories clearly illustrate how childhood poverty, early
marriage, early motherhood, denial of education, and the rampant neglect, abuse and
exploitation of women both within the family and in society limit them from
developing skills that can improve their options for education and employment.
Consequently, women are faced with limited employment opportunities and are
more vulnerable to economic and sexual exploitation in doing regular jobs due to
prevailing norms of gender inequality in Indian society. For instance, most of the
women residing in rural areas report traveling to cities in search of livelihood
options due to limited employment options in the villages. In addition, they spoke
about marital problems, such as husband’s infidelity, intimate-partner violence, and
having to shoulder the sole responsibility of their children as reasons that were
influencing their decision to choose sex work. Unlike their counterparts residing in
the brothels, the mobile female sex workers reported their nature of involvement in
sex work to be seasonal because they also had to return to their families at the end of
the day and attend to their multiple roles and responsibilities as a mother, daughter,
sister-in-law, daughter-in law and wife. As argued by Orchard et al. (2012), it is
important to distinguish between varieties of sex work in order to understand their
unique features and the diversity of their experience and organization of the
industry.
Another important finding from this study was the omnipresence of workplace
sexual harassment for women involved in informal jobs, such as domestic maids,

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textile/jute factory workers, helpers in construction sites, restaurants and hotels.

Quite a few women spoke about having tried other informal jobs before choosing
sex work as their livelihood option. The data from in-depth life histories clearly
suggest that, through their own lived experience of long hours of back-breaking
work, poor and unequal wages, no work benefits, and workplace sexual harassment,
women come to realize and understand sex work as ‘work’ because sex work allows
them to manage their dual responsibilities of nurturer-cum-provider to their families
and gives them a sense of ‘freedom’ and ‘autonomy’, by which they mean that they
can decide to whom they can provide their services, and how much they need to
charge for their services and also when they would work.
This study also suggests that intervention programs aimed at preventing women’s
entry into sex work should be based on the understanding of the local contexts that
shape the lives of these women, rather than a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach, especially
considering the heterogeneity among the diverse groups of sex workers and the
regional differences. For instance, many of the families were affected by the closure
of the cotton and textile industries, forcing women to work out of their homes to
fend for themselves. Their husbands were unable to find jobs, and women in the
rural areas skilled in weaving ‘tant’ (a natural cotton fabric) suffered from reduced
pay, as they would receive only $1.50 for weaving one 12-m-long ‘saree.’ The
migration of women to the cities in search of jobs and their husbands losing
traditional businesses, like the making of ‘earth clay pots’ to extensive use of
Styrofoam cups, indicates the impact of neo-liberal policies of globalization on poor
women and their entry into sex work.

Limitations

This study has some limitations which need to be considered while interpreting
these results. First, the results cannot be generalized for the entire sex worker
population, for it included only mobile female sex workers, mostly residing in rural
and suburban areas of Kolkata and traveling to the city for a daily income. It did not
include women who worked late at night due to the safety issues involved in
accessing women in the night hours. Since the profile of women who work late at
nights may differ from the women who choose to work in the daytime, their
motivations for entry into sex work could differ significantly from women who
worked in the daytime.
Second, while the self-reported data collected in the form of short-life portraits
and in-depth life may suffer from recall bias allowing women either to exaggerate,
minimize or alter the truthfulness of their experiences, the use of repeated interview
methodology checked for inconsistencies in the data. Third, male sex workers were
another group known to be operating from the same fields as flying female sex
workers, but the women’s attitudes toward male sex workers, comprising of
transgender and males who have sex with men (MSM) populations, were very
negative. They were very reluctant to share any information about this group of sex
workers, as they said, ‘‘we don’t know what those guys do. I never knew such things
existed and I don’t even want to know’’. It was clear that the presence of

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transgendered or gay men in the solicitation sites increased the competition for
women, as they were faced with demands for oral and anal sexual practices from
their clients. A majority of the women perceived anal and oral sex as sinful practices
and were not very open to discussing the existence of such practices. Currently,
there are no HIV prevention programs reaching out to this highly vulnerable group
in Kolkata, India, despite the fact they are a highly discriminated and stigmatized
population due to their non-conformity to the masculinity norms. Future studies
might want to explore the motivations of entry into sex work among this group of
male sex workers and their experiences with risk.

Implications for HIV Prevention Programs

The findings pertaining to women’s reasons for entry into sex work and how it
relates to their previous employment history have significant implications for HIV
prevention programs and policies for sex workers in India and abroad. It is
important that HIV prevention programs reaching out to women sex workers with
the goal of preventing women’s entry into sex work address the larger structural–
environmental conditions, such as workplace sexual harassment, lack of access to
child day care services, poor and unequal wages, and unsanitary and unsafe working
environments, in order to enable women to make choices and take control over their
lives. In addition, while most studies tend to debate women’s entry into sex work as
being voluntary or involuntary, the findings of this study suggest that women’s
reasons for entry into sex work are rooted in the complex socio-cultural realities of
women’s lives and vary across diverse groups of women. There is a need to develop
policies and services that are conducive to the needs of women. For instance, HIV
prevention programs reaching out to sex workers need to consider programs such as
subsidized child care programs, drop-in-centers, and legal counseling to promote
their health and ensure their safety and to protect their rights by recognizing sex
work as a form of labor.
The study findings also suggest that, while women spoke about experiencing a
sense of ‘freedom’ and autonomy in doing sex work, these women worked in a very
restrictive environment. For instance, the criminalized environment towards sex
work and the stigma, discrimination and dishonor associated with sex work impact
the lives of these women by increasing their vulnerability to HIV and violence. For
instance, most of these women choose to operate clandestinely and maintain
mobility to avoid being perceived as a ‘prostitute’ in the society. Therefore, this
study would recommend decriminalization of sex work to get rid of the stigma
associated with sex work and to provide women who decide to choose sex work
legal protection in case of violence and abuse experienced in the sex industry.

Acknowledgments Support for this study was provided by Fahs-Beck Fund for Research and
Experimentation Award and the Walker Institute of International Relations & Area Studies, University of
South Carolina. The views expressed herein are those of the author and do not reflect the policy or
position of the funding agencies. I would like to especially thank Dr. Alice Bee Kasakoff, Dr. Naomi
Farber, Dr. Terry Wolfer and Dr. Darcy Freedman for providing valuable comments and feedback on this

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paper. In addition, I would like to thank several other people who have commented on the earlier drafts of
this paper: Indulata Prasad, Ilya Issenin, and Aviral Shrivastava.

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