“I Give Courage to My Mom”: Mother and Child Experiences as Residents of an Urban Red-Light Brothel District in India
Rochelle L. Dalla, PhD & Sharvari Karandikar, PhD | September 17 | 1:45-2:45 pm EDT
Topic: Research, International | Knowledge Level: Intermediate
Indian female sex workers (FSWs) face a myriad of barriers (discrimination, illiteracy, stigma) that limit life options for themselves and their children. Using life-course developmental perspectives and ecological systems theory, the researchers sought to understand contextual and relational dynamics among FSWs as mothers (n = 19) and children of FSWs (n = 12) residing in an urban, brothel area (Hanuman Tekdi) in Mumbai. Interviews were conducted in private, translated, transcribed, and analyzed using thematic analysis and constant comparison. Mothers: All from impoverished rural families. Most (53%) were trafficked into sex trade (median age = 13.5). Seven women were estranged from families because of their work in sex trade. They actively took steps to keep their children safe in the brothel district neighborhood. Children: Prior to the lockdown, only four lived in the brothel area full-time; others lived in hostels or part-time in rural villages. Children received emotional support from mothers, uncles, friends, and God. Children provided instrumental and emotional support to mothers. Schools were closed for 82 weeks and remote learning was nearly impossible. All reported having friends or “best friends”, but they were in villages, school, or hostels and so no contact in over a year. Children viewed the brothel area as “dirty” and unsafe. Implications for policy, practice and continued research will be discussed. Attendees will have a clear understanding of the relational dynamics between vulnerable mothers and their children living in an urban red-light area, and the challenges they face and protective and survival strategies they employ.
Presentation Objectives:
• Discuss factors which compelled mothers into the commercial sex industry
• Identify challenges for living in an impoverished, urban brothel district for both mothers and children
• Discuss implications for policy, practice, and continued research