The Female Sex Work Industry in a District of India in the Context of HIV Prevention

Table 1

Summary of main vulnerability factors by type of sex work setting.

Sex work setting	Main vulnerability factors
Brothel	(i) High client volume.
	(ii) Autonomy limited by the gharwalis.
	(iii) Harassment and violence from the gharwalis.
	(iv) High alcohol consumption.
	(v) Their contact with the HIV prevention programme staff depends on the gharwali.
Lodge	(i) High client volume.
	(ii) Autonomy limited by the lodge manager.
	(iii) Limited number of lodges so pressure to conform to lodge rules.
	(iv) Police raids.
	(v) Time with the client controlled by lodge.
	(vi) Need to buy condoms from the lodge manager.
	(vii) Their contact with the programme staff depends on the lodge manager, who runs the lodge like a business.
	(i) Autonomy to choose clients limited by the competition between sex workers and the number of available clients.
	(ii) Harassment and violence from gundas and police members.
	Vulnerability factors specific to the place of sex
	Street-to-lodge FSWs:
	(i) Medium to high client volume.
	(ii) Autonomy limited by the lodge manager.
Street	(iii) Limited number of lodges so pressure to conform to lodge rules.
	(iv) Time with the client controlled by lodge.
	(v) Police raids.
	Street-to-street FSWs:
	(i) Harassment and violence from clients.
	Street-to-home FSWs:
	(i) Harassment from neighbours.
Home	(i) Non-Devadasis: harassment from neighbours.
	(ii) Non-Devadasis: difficult to identify by the programme.
Phone network	(i) Police raids if entertaining clients in lodges.
	(ii) Difficult to identify and stay in contact with the programme.
Parlour girls	(i) High expectation from clients.
	(ii) Difficult to identify and stay in contact with the programme.
Dhaba	(i) High client volume.
	(ii) Autonomy limited by the dhaba manager.
	(iii) Most clients are truck drivers.
	(iv) High alcohol consumption among clients and FSWs.
	(v) Difficult to identify and stay in contact with the programme.
Highway	(i) High client volume.
	(ii) Harassment and violence from clients.
	(iii) Most clients are truck drivers.
	(iv) High alcohol consumption among clients.
	(v) Difficult to identify and stay in contact with the programme.
Agricultural workers	(i) Little knowledge about HIV and safe sex.
	(ii) Lack of condom availability in villages.
	(iii) Difficult to identify and stay in contact with the programme.