abstract: 'The Sonagachi Project was initiated in Kolkata, India in 1992 as a

  STD/HIV intervention for sex workers. The project evolved to adopt

  strategies common to women''s empowerment programs globally (i.e.,

  community mobilization, rights-based framing, advocacy, micro-finance)

  to address common factors that support effective, evidence-based HIV/STD

  prevention. The Sonagachi model is now a broadly diffused evidence-based

  empowerment program.

  We previously demonstrated significant condom use increases among female

  sex workers in a 16 month replication trial of the Sonagachi empowerment

  intervention (n = 110) compared to a control community (n = 106)

  receiving standard care of STD clinic, condom promotion, and peer

  education in two randomly assigned rural towns in West Bengal, India

  (Basu et al., 2004). This article examines the intervention''s impacts on

  21 measured variables reflecting five common factors of effective

  HIV/STD prevention programs to estimate the impact of empowerment

  strategies on HIV/STD prevention program goals. The intervention which

  was conducted in 2000-2001 significantly: 1) improved knowledge of STDs

  and condom protection from STD and HIV, and maintained STD/HIV risk

  perceptions despite treatment: 2) provided a frame to motivate change

  based on reframing sex work as valid work, increasing disclosure of

  profession, and instilling a hopeful future orientation reflected in

  desire for more education or training; 3) improved skills in sexual and

  workplace negotiations reflected in increased refusal, condom

  decision-making, and ability to change work contract, but not ability to

  take leave; 4) built social support by increasing social interactions

  outside work, social function participation, and helping other sex

  workers; and 5) addressed environmental barriers of economic

  vulnerabilities by increasing savings and alternative income, but not

  working in other locations, nor reduced loan taking, and did not

  increase voting to build social capital. This study''s results

  demonstrate that, compared to narrowcast clinical and prevention

  services alone, empowerment strategies can significantly impact a

  broader range of factors to reduce vulnerability to HIV/STDs. (c) 2009

  Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.'
affiliation: 'Swendeman, D (Corresponding Author), Univ Calif Los Angeles, Ctr Community
  Hlth, Semel Inst Neurosci \& Human Behav, 10920 Wilshire Blvd,Suite 350, Los Angeles,
  CA 90024 USA.

  Swendeman, Dallas; Rotheram-Borus, Mary Jane, Univ Calif Los Angeles, Ctr Community
  Hlth, Semel Inst Neurosci \& Human Behav, Los Angeles, CA 90024 USA.

  Basu, Ishika; Das, Sankari; Jana, Smarajit, Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Comm, Kolkata,
  India.'
author: Swendeman, Dallas and Basu, Ishika and Das, Sankari and Jana, Smarajit and
  Rotheram-Borus, Mary Jane
author-email: dswendeman@mednet.ucla.edu
author_list:
- family: Swendeman
  given: Dallas
- family: Basu
  given: Ishika
- family: Das
  given: Sankari
- family: Jana
  given: Smarajit
- family: Rotheram-Borus
  given: Mary Jane
da: '2023-09-28'
doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2009.07.035
eissn: 1873-5347
files: []
issn: 0277-9536
journal: SOCIAL SCIENCE \& MEDICINE
keywords: 'HIV; Sexually transmitted diseases (STD); Prevention; Sex workers;

  Empowerment; Replication; Intervention trial; India; Common factors'
keywords-plus: 'CONDOM USE; COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT; HEALTH-PROMOTION; PREVENTION; RISK;

  INTERVENTIONS; SONAGACHI; CALCUTTA; IDENTITY; PROJECT'
language: English
month: OCT
number: '8'
number-of-cited-references: '36'
pages: 1157-1166
papis_id: 4801b12aaf5c7249e6dadaab6fbfb4d3
ref: Swendeman2009empoweringsex
times-cited: '157'
title: Empowering sex workers in India to reduce vulnerability to HIV and sexually
  transmitted diseases
type: article
unique-id: WOS:000271341900005
usage-count-last-180-days: '0'
usage-count-since-2013: '37'
volume: '69'
web-of-science-categories: 'Public, Environmental \& Occupational Health; Social Sciences,

  Biomedical'
year: '2009'