Abstract
Children of sex workers (SWs) in Bangladesh are susceptible to contracting HIV and other SIDs/STIs. Although recent studies have documented a rise in the number of children of sex workers in Bangladesh, little is known about their vulnerabilities to HIV infection. The main objective of this study is to explore the behavioral and social factors that place children of SWs at risk of unsafe sex work, thus making them susceptible to contracting HIV. This study adopted a cross-sectional design and utilized both quantitative and qualitative methods in its research. The findings of this study revealed that more than three-quarters of the children of SWs have low level of knowledge in relation to and harbour various misconceptions about HIV/AIDS. Despite their age; half of the respondents have had consensual and/or commercial sex with different partners. Of these, 30 percent did not use condoms. The frequency of condom use among male children was also lower than their female counterparts. Minors working in brothels face additional risks such as many children feeling threatened and reporting physical abuse. The majority of participants in this study knew little about the appropriate responses to take when faced with these challenges. There are very few NGO programs that target the children of SWs. The brothel management system is also substandard and children manage to procure fake licenses through the complicity of the madams, pimps and notary, paving the way for child sex work within the brothel.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Sex Workers and Their Children in Bangladesh: Addressing Risks and Vulnerabilities |
Editors | Daniel M. Sabet, Tawhidur Rahman, Sate Ahmad |
Place of Publication | Bangladesh |
Publisher | University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh and ActionAid Bangladesh |
Pages | 59-81 |
Number of pages | 23 |
ISBN (Print) | 9789843358585 |
Publication status | Published - 2012 |