Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013 Jun 20;3(6):e002763.
doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2013-002763.

Violence, HIV risk behaviour and depression among female sex workers of eastern Nepal

Reshu Agrawal Sagtani  1 , Sailesh Bhattarai, Baikuntha Raj Adhikari, Dharanidhar Baral, Deepak Kumar Yadav, Paras Kumar Pokharel
Affiliations

Violence, HIV risk behaviour and depression among female sex workers of eastern Nepal

Reshu Agrawal Sagtani et al. BMJ Open. .

Abstract

Objectives: The primary objective of the study was to estimate the prevalence of depression among female sex workers (FSWs) of eastern Nepal. The secondary objective was to search for an association between depression, violence and HIV risk behaviour.

Design: Cross-sectional/observational study.

Study setting: This study was carried out in five cities of eastern Nepal (Dharan, Itahari, Biratnagar, Damak and Birtamode). Both restaurant-based and street-based FSWs were recruited in the study.

Participants: Women who had been involved in commercial sex activity in the past 6 months and gave informed consent were included in the study.

Primary outcome measure: A score of more than or equal to 16 on the Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression (CESD) scale was considered as depression.

Methodology: Face-to-face interviews were conducted with respondents who were sought through a snowball sampling technique. Information regarding their depression status, HIV high-risk behaviour and violence was recorded. The estimated sample size was 210.

Results: We interviewed 210 FSWs (both restaurant-based and street-based). The prevalence of depression among respondents was 82.4%. FSWs who had experienced violence were five times more likely to be depressed than those who were not victims of violence. The odds of depression were six times higher among respondents who were involved in any HIV risk behaviour compared with those who were not involved.

Conclusions: The present study reports a high prevalence of depression, HIV risk behaviours and violence among FSWs of eastern Nepal. The mental health of FSWs should also be regarded as an important aspect of HIV prevention efforts which can help to promote the overall health of this population.

Keywords: Epidemiology.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Popoola BI. Occupational hazards and coping strategies of sex workers in south western Nigeria. Health Care Women Int 2013;34:139–49 - PubMed
    1. Vanwesenbeeck I. Another decade of social scientific work on sex work: a review of research 1990–2000. Annu Rev Sex Res 2001;12:242–89 - PubMed
    1. Harcourt C, Van Beek I, Heslop J, et al. The health and welfare needs of female and transgender street sex workers in New south Wales. Aust N Z J Public Health 2001;25:84–9 - PubMed
    1. Minichiello V, Marino R, Browne J, et al. Male sex workers in three Australian cities: socio-demographic and sex work characteristics. J Homosex 2001;42:29–51 - PubMed
    1. Arnott J. Sex workers and law reform in South Africa. HIV AIDS Policy Law Rev 2004;9:78–80 - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources