Female Sex Workers in Kathmandu: Livelihood Assets and Their Vulnerability

Abstract

Much has been researched on socially accepted or desirable livelihood strategy of different occupational caste and ethnic groups but there is very limited study of urban poor women that have adopted socially, culturally and legally undesirable livelihood strategy. Many poor women in urban areas have adopted sex trade as a main way of earning livelihood and struggling with low quality of survival. Thus, this study attempts to explore the livelihood of Female Sex Workers (FSWs) in Kathmandu. Particularly, this study examines the socio-economic background, motivational factors, social perception, livelihood assets and vulnerability context of FSWs’ livelihood. The analysis is based on field survey of 50 FSWs that were collected from different sites of Kathmandu metropolitan city namely Ratnapark, Gongabu, Thamel, Gausala-Chabahil and Kalanki area in January-February 2009. It is found that FSWs are quite young as well as uneducated and victimized by domestic violence and sexual harassment. Overwhelming majority is migrant. They are from variety of castes and ethnic backgrounds and majority of them are divorced or separated. Motivational factors of the FSWs are complex and interconnected. Together with poverty, political conflict, unsuccessful conjugal life, domestic violence and sexual harassment have led many women into sex trade. Sex trade is regarded as social evil and societal perception is quite negative towards FSWs and their profession. They have no livelihood assets that are described in sustainable livelihood framework and their own physicality is main livelihood asset of the FSWs that is not explained in the framework. Thus, the livelihood framework is incomplete to assess the livelihood of FSWs. The livelihood of FSWs is vulnerable and unsustainable so concerned authorities and agencies should provide them stable source of income and state should regulate sex trade and specify red light area in certain sites of the urban areas.

“This study was conducted within the framework for the Work Package 2 (Livelihood Options and Globalization) of the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) North- South: Research Partnerships for Mitigating Syndromes of Global Change. The NCCR North –South is co-funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF) and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)”.