Anti-trafficking and Rehabilitation Discourses: A Case Study in HIV/AIDS Intervention Strategies in India

a lunch talk with Satarupa Dasgupta
January 27, Friday
12:30 to 1:45 pm
Satarupa Dasgupta, Postdoctoral and Transition Program for Academic Diversity Fellow, New York University
Articulation of sex work entails the commonly observed connection between sex work and trafficking, proposed delegitimization of sex work, and rescue and rehabilitation propositions for sex workers. I analyze the policy documents of global aid organizations and legislations, and examine the case of Sonagachi Project, a HIV/AIDS intervention program that targets sex workers in one of the largest red light districts of South Asia. The project is spearheaded by the sex workers themselves, who act as peer outreach workers, and there are no external organizations involved. By conducting interviews with commercial female sex workers from Sonagachi area I examine the sex workers’ perspectives on the articulation of trafficking and sex work, anti-trafficking legislations in India, the delegitimization and criminalization of sex work, rescue and rehabilitation propositions for sex workers, compulsion and abuse in sex work, and the reasons for pursuing sex work as a profession. I also assess the strategies adopted by the Sonagachi Project to restrict trafficking and the entry of unwilling and minor individuals in sex work.
Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality
41-51 East 11th Street, 7th Floor Gallery

between University Place and Broadway
wheelchair access at 85-87 University Place, between 11th & 12th Streets
Bring your lunch — we’ll provide beverages and dessert!
Facebook event page here.
This event is free and open to the public.  For more information, please call CSGS at 212-992-9540 or email csgs(at)nyu.edu.


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