Ujawala

Comprehensive sexual reproductive health services to women in sex work for retaining women in HIV care Ujwala project was designed based on the programme learnings of the Abhaya project that Alliance India had successfully implemented in 2013-16 to enhance access to sexual and reproductive health services for female sex workers. With the support from MAC AIDS Funds and Tides Foundation, Ujwala project was rolled out in April 2017 in three cities:  Delhi, Warangal, and Ahmedabad. The main objective of the project is to mitigate and prevent gender-based violence (GBV) against women in sex work, and strategically provide sexual reproductive health services (SRH) with the aim to improve the uptake of HIV services including prevention, testing, treatment, and care and support.  The project works with implementing partners, Sakijyot in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, Anchal Trust in Delhi, and Rudhrama Devi Mahila Mandali in Warangal, Telangana. Leveraging the existing sex worker’s targeted intervention (TI) programme of State AIDS Control Society in the three states, Ujwala project provided additional support provided capacity building to the frontline workers to address the unmet needs of HIV and SRH services. In addition, the project sought to understand and respond to the rapidly changing sex work environment in India, which is moving beyond the traditional sites, and reach women in sex work who operate virtually and remain unreached by the national HIV programme. An impact assessment study was carried out to acquire an in-depth understanding of the sexual reproductive health needs of female sex workers registered with TIs instituted under Ujwala project in three implementing sites. In addition, the study looked into all the objectives of the Ujwala project and how they have impacted lives and coping of female sex workers to mitigate risks and vulnerabilities associated with sex work in different contexts.