Working with teenage sons of sex workers and auto rickshaw drivers

“I don’t feel scared or stigmatized anymore about being the son of a sex worker.” Umesh, 20, son of a woman in prostitution and sex work

Children of sex workers often face the whiplash of stigma and discrimination from an early age. They are mocked, taunted and not accepted at school. Such stigma often leads to low motivation and low self-esteem, which translates into poor academic grades. Even when a sex worker’s son or daughter successfully finishes school, there are few educational prospects or employment opportunities. ‘What next?’ is a question that sex workers’ children must confront at every step in their teenage lives.

Confronted with this situation, it is hardly surprising that teenage boys turn to petty crime – as is the case with poor teenage boys in slums, shanties, favelas, ghettos and barrios all over the world (even when their mothers are not in prostitution and sex work). The situation in Sangli is no different. Teenage dropouts and unemployed young men have been involved in petty crime and violence, sexual harassment, illegally trading in drugs and alcohol for a while.

In 2004, when the situation began to get out of hand, their mothers – many of whom are part of VAMP – turned to SANGRAM. They felt these boys could be turned away from crime only if they were put on another track. They started taking their sons to the VAMP office, where they would help write reports, fill in registers, and maintain accounts. Through these regular meetings they began to talk about what was happening in their gallis, analyze their behaviour and the effect it was having on others in their community.

That same year, many of these teenage boys participated in a theatre workshop that was held at VAMP. Theatre is youthful, fun, creative, expressive…they loved it. Their interest in VAMP’s work began to grow. A core group of 29 boys were then trained on HIV/AIDS prevention, condom demonstrations, and other aspects of VAMP’s work. “I felt that I was learning so many new and interesting things,” says Umesh. “Earlier I did not really know why our mothers were so involved in SANGRAM. Now I do. Slowly we began to stop behaving badly in the community.”

The boys then decided to start a small project of their own with auto rickshaw drivers in Sangli. They surveyed auto rickshaw drivers and their information levels on STDs and HIV/AIDS. Based on this, they now do their own HIV/AIDS awareness intervention with auto rickshaw drivers, to whom they also distribute condoms.

The atmosphere in the Gokulnagar and Swarup Talkies communities has changed significantly as a result – with young people involved in something that they enjoy and believe in. Some of them have also started to take extra classes for younger children. Raju, a teenage boy, has been trained to be VAMP’s administrative officer. “We understand and trust our own people, and these are our children,” says Shabana. “Someone who knows us and speaks our language will be the best person to help manage the collective.” Raju attends all VAMP’s Monday weekly meetings in Nippani, maintains accounts, hands out reimbursements and allowances, checks reporting of activities – a true blue office manager in short!

This tiny intervention has had a giant impact on the self-esteem of these teenage boys. “Most importantly, I don’t feel scared or stigmatized anymore about being the son of a sex worker,” says Umesh. “Now I can say with pride that my mother has done a great thing, a sacrifice, to put food on the table, to provide for me to be educated.” And this association with SANGRAM has also had a positive influence on their attitudes as well, including their attitude to gender. “My daughter has the right to live her life,” says Umesh. “I don’t expect her to listen to me just because I am a man, or her father. She must finish her studies - that will make her secure for life.”