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Can sex workers regulate police? Learning from an HIV prevention project for sex workers in southern India

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  • Biradavolu, Monica Rao
  • Burris, Scott
  • George, Annie
  • Jena, Asima
  • Blankenship, Kim M.

Abstract

There is an argument that policing practices exacerbate HIV risk, particularly for female sex workers. Interventions that mobilize sex workers to seek changes in laws and law enforcement practices have been prominent in India and have received considerable scholarly attention. Yet, there are few studies on the strategies sex worker advocates use to modify police behavior or the struggles they face in challenging state institutions. This paper draws upon contemporary theories of governance and non-state regulation to analyze the evolving strategies of an HIV prevention non-governmental organization (NGO) and female sex worker community-based organizations (CBOs) to reform police practices in southern India. Using detailed ethnographic observations of NGO and CBO activities over a two year period, and key informant interviews with various actors in the sex trade, this paper shows how a powerless group of marginalized and stigmatized women were able to leverage the combined forces of community empowerment, collective action and network-based governance to regulate a powerful state actor, and considers the impact of the advocacy strategies on sex worker well-being.

Suggested Citation

  • Biradavolu, Monica Rao & Burris, Scott & George, Annie & Jena, Asima & Blankenship, Kim M., 2009. "Can sex workers regulate police? Learning from an HIV prevention project for sex workers in southern India," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(8), pages 1541-1547, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:68:y:2009:i:8:p:1541-1547
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    Cited by:

    1. Luis Ferney Moreno Castillo & Carlos Villanueva, 2019. "Anuario iberoamericano en Derecho de la Energía. Vol. II, Regulación de la transición Energética," Books, Universidad Externado de Colombia, Facultad de Derecho, number 1142, march.
    2. Brady, David & Biradavolu, Monica R. & Blankenship, Kim M., 2015. "Brokers and the Earnings of Female Sex Workers in India," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 80(6), pages 1123-1149.
    3. Spicer, Neil & Harmer, Andrew & Aleshkina, Julia & Bogdan, Daryna & Chkhatarashvili, Ketevan & Murzalieva, Gulgun & Rukhadze, Natia & Samiev, Arnol & Walt, Gill, 2011. "Circus monkeys or change agents? Civil society advocacy for HIV/AIDS in adverse policy environments," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 73(12), pages 1748-1755.
    4. Carlos Villanueva, 2019. "Anuario iberoamericano en Derecho de la Energía. Vol. II, Regulación de la transición Energética," Books, Universidad Externado de Colombia, Facultad de Derecho, number 1131, march.
    5. Katherine H A Footer & Ju Nyeong Park & Saba Rouhani & Noya Galai & Bradley E Silberzahn & Steven Huettner & Sean T Allen & Susan G Sherman, 2020. "The development of the Police Practices Scale: Understanding policing approaches towards street-based female sex workers in a U.S. City," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(1), pages 1-15, January.
    6. Ryan, Martha S. & Nambiar, Devaki & Ferguson, Laura, 2019. "Sex work-related stigma: Experiential, symbolic and structural forms in the health systems of Delhi, India," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 228(C), pages 85-92.
    7. Biradavolu, Monica R. & Blankenship, Kim M. & George, Annie & Dhungana, Nimesh, 2015. "Unintended Consequences of Community-Based Monitoring Systems: Lessons from an HIV Prevention Intervention for Sex Workers in South India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 1-10.
    8. Knittel, Andrea K. & Graham, Louis F. & Lopez, William & Snow, Rachel C., 2018. "Criminal justice involvement among young adults exchanging sex in Detroit," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 1-11.

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