The Feminist Ethic of Care: Mothering Among Sex Workers in Mumbai

Affilia ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 088610992093905
Author(s):  
Rebecca J. McCloskey ◽  
Sharvari Karandikar ◽  
Rebecca Reno ◽  
Megan España

The majority of sex workers are mothers. Although participation in sex work is primarily driven by the prioritization of their children’s needs over their own, mothers are stigmatized, subject to poorer health, and lack access to quality health care and social services. Interviews with 25 mothers in Mumbai, India, were analyzed using theory-driven coding to reexamine participation in sex work in context of Gilligan’s three-stage ethic of care, a feminist theory of moral reasoning. Stage 1 (decision making focused on self) themes were (a) sex work served as a means to survival and (b) exploitative and unfulfilling relationships required a focus on self. The transition from Stage 1 to 2 theme was language of selfishness versus responsibility. Stage 2 (selflessness is goodness) themes characterizing the majority of narratives were (a) sex work is justified, (b) duty to prioritize care of others, and (c) self-sacrifice to achieve aspirations for children. The transition from Stage 2 to 3 had one theme: consideration of self. While Stage 3 represents women taking holistic care of themselves and others, the data did not reflect this. Reframing mothers’ participation in sex work using the ethic of care framework may support destigmatization, decriminalization, and security of human rights.

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans Justus Amukugo ◽  
Julia Paul Nangombe

This article focuses on the paradigmatic perspective facilitate the development of a quality improvement training programme for health professionals in the ministry of health and social services in Namibia. The study of this nature requires a paradigmatic perspective; this is a collection of logically linked concepts and propositions that provide a theoretical perspective or orientation that tends to guide the research approach to a specific. Assumptions are useful in directing research decisions during the research process.The study adopted a constructivism and interpretivism approach, since it involved understand the current situation of quality health care/service delivery at health care facilities, and explore and describe the of the health professionals; experiences at the health care facilities. The study was based on the specific information that was accepted as true, as obtained from those lived the experiences of challenges and constraints of providing quality health care at the health care facilities.The paradigm perspectives in this study include Meta – theoretical assumption which consisted ontological, epistemological, axiological, methodological and rhetorical assumptions. Theoretical basis of the study includes Dickoff (1968), Practice Oriented Theory; Programme development by Meyer and Van Niekerk; Kolb’s Theory of experiential learning; Demining’s model of quality improvement, Quality improvement policy of the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MoHSS) and Centre for Diseases control (CDC) framework for programme education.


2010 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret Kay ◽  
Geoffrey Mitchell ◽  
Alexandra Clavarino

Doctors face many barriers accessing health care. Even after a doctor has adopted the patient role, quality health care can remain elusive. This study investigated the consultation between the treating doctor and the doctor-patient. We aimed to determine what doctors want within the consultation, their preferred consultation method. This qualitative study involved 37 GPs who participated in one of six independently facilitated focus groups. Data were recorded, transcribed and analysed for recurrent themes using an iterative inductive framework. Participants emphasised the importance of, and the difficulty in, establishing a relationship with a GP. This involved determining who to see and when to go to the doctor. Specific ways of strengthening the doctor–patient relationship were discussed, including understanding the illness experience, acknowledging the whole patient, setting boundaries, providing holistic care, developing rapport and participating in shared decision making. Empathy was especially important. Analysis revealed strong similarities with the ‘patient-centred consultation method’. Understanding the preferred consultation method for doctors will assist doctors in providing quality care to their peers. This is an important step in enhancing health access for doctors. Doctors want what patients want: care delivered within a patient-centred consultation. These insights may help other health professionals when treating or receiving care from their colleagues.


Sexual Health ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 541
Author(s):  
Xiaohu Zhang ◽  
Limin Mao ◽  
Peter Aggleton ◽  
Jun Zhang ◽  
Jun Jing ◽  
...  

Background: To date, limited research has been conducted to identify the personal and contextual factors that contribute to women’s entry into the sex industry in China. Methods: The reasons for and factors associated with voluntary entry into the sex industry were explored through in-depth interviews conducted with 38 Chinese women who were held in detention centres for selling sex. Results: Women’s personal accounts reveal that entry into sex work is influenced by life aspirations, family responsibilities and social connections, which facilitate mobility to a new urban environment in which they encounter opportunities and challenges. Findings highlight the complex interactions between individual and contextual factors in relation to women’s entry into sex work. Conclusions: In a rapidly developing country such as China, entry into sex work may appeal to women of low socioeconomic status, particularly young women who have recently migrated to urban areas. For members of this mobile and relatively disadvantaged population, comprehensive social services and support are urgently needed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heidi Hoefinger ◽  
Jennifer Musto ◽  
P. G. Macioti ◽  
Anne E. Fehrenbacher ◽  
Nicola Mai ◽  
...  

System-involvement resulting from anti-trafficking interventions and the criminalization of sex work and migration results in negative health impacts on sex workers, migrants, and people with trafficking experiences. Due to their stigmatized status, sex workers and people with trafficking experiences often struggle to access affordable, unbiased, and supportive health care. This paper will use thematic analysis of qualitative data from in-depth interviews and ethnographic fieldwork with 50 migrant sex workers and trafficked persons, as well as 20 key informants from legal and social services, in New York and Los Angeles. It will highlight the work of trans-specific and sex worker–led initiatives that are internally addressing gaps in health care and the negative health consequences that result from sexual humanitarian anti-trafficking interventions that include policing, arrest, court-involvement, court-mandated social services, incarceration, and immigration detention. Our analysis focuses on the impact of criminalization on sex workers and their experiences with sexual humanitarian efforts intended to protect and control them. We argue that these grassroots community-based efforts are a survival-oriented reaction to the harms of criminalization and a response to vulnerabilities left unattended by mainstream sexual humanitarian approaches to protection and service provision that frame sex work itself as the problem. Peer-to-peer interventions such as these create solidarity and resiliency within marginalized communities, which act as protective buffers against institutionalized systemic violence and the resulting negative health outcomes. Our results suggest that broader public health support and funding for community-led health initiatives are needed to reduce barriers to health care resulting from stigma, criminalization, and ineffective anti-trafficking and humanitarian efforts. We conclude that the decriminalization of sex work and the reform of institutional practices in the US are urgently needed to reduce the overall negative health outcomes of system-involvement.


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