Risk, Stigma, Agency

Life Histories of Women Involved in Sex Work in Kolkata, India

Sunny Sinha

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Year: 2025
• Print ISBN:
  9783031829741
• eBook ISBN:
  9783031829758
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Women in History
• Index: Social Sciences

This book centers the life histories of three women engaged in sex work in Kolkata, India to show how they make sense of their lived experiences and reveals deep insights into the risks women face in the current social environment of India. Much of the risk discourse surrounding sex work in India comes from academics, social and health workers, epidemiologists, and policymakers. Departing from this approach, the author foregrounds the lives and voices of the women themselves to provide a richly nuanced picture of the diverse and complex realities that shape many women's lives in India. It provides a deeper understanding of the different but interrelated vulnerabilities to which many sex workers are subject, including poverty, familial violence, child marriage, marital rape, public ridicule, stigma, and health risks such as HIV/AIDS, along with their reasons for entry, exit, and reentry into sex work. This book will be of interest to researchers and students from a variety of academic disciplines, such as social work, anthropology and sociology, women's studies, public health, and criminal justice. It has also been written in an accessible and engaging style that should appeal to a diverse global audience of non-academic professionals as well as scholars. It will resonate with professionals in health or social welfare fields (e.g., nurses, social workers, lawyers, psychologists) who address issues of violence against women, human trafficking, or health risks in sex work.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Front Matter
• 1. Introduction
• 2. A Reflexive Account of Researching Cisgender Women Sex Workers in Kolkata
• 3. Trupti’s Life Story: “I Never Thought I Would Become a Widow”
• 4. Geetanjali’s Life Story: “Everybody Made Me a ‘Bad’ Girl”
• 5. Srishti’s Life Story: “I Felt Like I Was Dying Every Day, but I’m Still Living!”
• 6. Conclusion
• Back Matter