Keeping Violence at Bay in Andhra Pradesh: International Day to End Violence against Sex Workers 2013

indiaaidsalliance 16 December, 2013

“I filed an application for a ration card in the mandal (block) administrative office. The clerk made me come to office 15 times, and every time he slept with me,” rues Meena  (name changed), a sex worker from Andhra Pradesh. “Wherever we go – offices, schools, hospitals or banks – we are sexually exploited and discriminated against.”

Sex workers across the world are easy targets for violence and discrimination at work, at home and in society at large. Data show that violence faced by sex workers ranges from slapping to sexual assault, physical and psychological torture, and sometimes even murder. HIV programmes across the world are grappling with this reality of sex workers facing high levels of stigma, discrimination, gender-based violence and other human rights violations, which prevent them from accessing HIV information, health care and needed social services.

To tackle the problem, India HIV/AIDS Alliance has worked through our Avahan programme to develop community-led strategies for prevention and mitigation of violence among female sex workers and other sexual minorities. Working in a total of six states, the Avahan India AIDS Initiative is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In Andhra Pradesh, our programme covered over 40,000 sex workers in 14 districts. Programme strategies on violence include: community mobilisation and empowerment, crisis response systems and teams; and sensitisation of police and other law enforcement agencies, media personnel and service professionals. The crisis response teams respond within 24 hours to any violence reported by liaising with legal services in the event of unlawful arrests, sexual assault, violence and other rights violations against sex workers.

Since 2006, our team has successfully sensitized around 7,000 police officials at state, district and block level. Over 700 community members have received training on law and human rights and have been recognized by the District Legal Cell Authority as para-legal volunteers (PLVs). PLVs from sex-worker communities provide support to those in need. In addition, community collectivization and legal education has empowered sex workers to recognize and address cases of violence against them.

Routine monitoring on violence and crisis response including data collected from Targeted Interventions for HIV prevention and from special Behavioural Tracking Surveys (BTS) among 2,000 female sex workers in five districts in Andhra Pradesh between 2009 and 2012 showed an improved response to violence in sex worker communities. The number of cases of violence against sex workers has declined by 68 percent, from 900 cases in 2009 to 288 cases in 2011. The BTS data indicate that there has also been a reduction in violence by police (from 29% in 2009 to 19% in 2011-12). The perception of fair treatment by police has increased from 14% (2009) to 29% (2011-12), and around 70 percent of sex workers now experience what they consider to be fair treatment at public institutions.

“Earlier we shuddered at the sight of police. Not anymore. We now know our rights and what to do in a crisis,” says Meena with confidence.

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The author of this post, Dr. Parimi Prabhakar, is Director of Alliance India’s Regional Office in Hyderabad.

The Avahan India AIDS Initiative (2003-2014) is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The programme aims to reduce HIV transmission and the prevalence of STIs in vulnerable high-risk populations, notably female sex workers, MSM, and transgenders, through prevention education and services such as condom promotion, STI management, behavior change communication, community mobilization, and advocacy. Avahan works in six states, and Alliance India is a state lead partner in Andhra Pradesh.