Marginalising the Marginalised: An Assessment of Vulnerability of Commercial Sex Workers

Abstract

Sex workers, usually referred to as prostitutes, have occupied an anomalous position in societies throughout the history. The legal status of prostitution varies greatly between different jurisdictions, from being punishable by death to being completely legal. Commercial sex workers are the ones who solicit sexual favours on the terms of monetary gains and treat it as their source of livelihood. Over the last three to four decades, sex work has undergone dramatic changes in many countries of the world. The boundaries of sex work are vague, ranging from erotic displays without physical contact with the client, through to high-risk unprotected sexual intercourse clients. Individuals may occasionally and opportunistically exact a fee or gift for a sexual favour without perceiving themselves to be sex workers, or they may engage more or less full time in the explicitly commercial provision of sex services. Therefore, a categorisation has been developed based on their place of functioning. Thus, the paper is an attempt to look closely these categories and develop an understanding of the various forms of vulnerability they are subjected to which leads their further marginalisation.