Abstract

Female sex workers are highly mobile, which may influence their risk of experiencing physical and sexual violence. However, there remains a paucity of research, particularly longitudinal, from Sub-Saharan Africa exploring mobility and gender-based violence among female sex workers. To address this gap, this study examined the longitudinal relationship between work-related mobility and recent experience of physical or sexual gender-based violence from a client or partner among female sex workers in Iringa, Tanzania. A secondary data analysis was conducted using baseline and 18-month follow-up data from Project Shikamana, a community empowerment-based combination HIV prevention intervention. Responses from 387 female sex workers aged 18 years and older participating in both baseline and follow-up were analyzed. Unadjusted and adjusted Poisson regression models with robust variance estimations, accounting for clustering of female sex workers’ responses over time, were fit. Final models adjusted for socio-demographic characteristics and aspects of participants’ living situations and work environments. Recent physical or sexual violence from a client or partner was common (baseline: 40%; follow-up: 29%). Twenty-six percent of female sex workers at baseline, and 11% at follow-up, had recently traveled outside of Iringa for sex work. In the final adjusted longitudinal model, female sex workers recently mobile for sex work had a 25% increased risk of any recent experience of physical or sexual gender-based violence when compared with their non-mobile counterparts (adjusted incidence rate ratio: 1.25; 95% CI: 1.03–1.53; p<0.05). Interventions must identify ways–such as mobile support services, linkages and referrals to health and other social services while traveling, or the use of mobile or digital technology–to address mobile female sex workers’ unique needs while traveling. Future quantitative and qualitative research is needed to understand the context of female sex workers’ mobility and how and why mobility influences risk environments and experiences of gender-based violence.

Highlights

  • Female sex workers (FSWs) experience increased risk of physical and sexual violence globally [1,2]

  • This study was approved by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (JHSPH) institutional review board (IRB) (Ref #: 00007065) as well as the Muhimbili University of Health and Applied Sciences (MUHAS) IRB and National Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) IRB in Tanzania (Ref #: 1593)

  • Quantitative studies could build on the findings presented here to explore those socio-structural factors–including factors such as alcohol consumption, drug use, client interactions, or other aspects of FSWs’ risk environments–that may mediate the relationship between work-related mobility and recent experiences of gender-based violence (GBV)

Read more

Summary

Introduction

Female sex workers (FSWs) experience increased risk of physical and sexual violence globally [1,2]. Criminalization of sex work, gender inequities, inequitable power relations, economic constraints, and population mobility intersect to shape the contexts in which FSWs work and experience violence [2,11,12,13,14,15]. Population mobility, including both shortterm and long-term mobility and migration, is an under-explored socio-structural factor relevant to FSWs’ risk of violence [2]. Travel for sex work can lead FSWs to work in venues or environments where they may have greater economic opportunities and earnings [16,21]

Methods
Results
Discussion
Conclusion
Full Text
Published version (Free)

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call