Guilty Without Trial: Women in the Sex Trade in Calcutta

by Carolyn Sleightholme, Indrani Sinha

Carolyn Sleightholme and Indrani Sinha write with rare perception and sensitivity about the lives of sex workers in Calcutta who have shared their stories with them. Through interviews, surveys, and case studies, they interrogate the double standards of sexual morality that govern the lucrative sex trade in India, thus making visible the more than twenty thousand mothers, heads of households, and community members whose activities and voices have been silenced so that others may profit from their activities. Linking the social and economic vulnerability of sex workers to the trade's supply, the authors reveal the harassment, economic insecurity, health hazards, and stigmatization these women face, and they offer recommendations for intervention programs by government and other organizations so that their needs may be addressed and their exploitation halted.

163 pages, Paperback

First published September 30, 1996

Reviews

[Jitna Bhagani]

Dated but insightful nevertheless. Sample sizes used to make observations and later conclusions were limited as such (for example, the assumption that no daughters of sex workers go into the trade based on a limited sample). The personal accounts were interesting, although I'd recommend taking some of the conclusive 'facts' with a grain of salt.

An internal look into the atrocities in Kolkata's Sonagachi Red Light District, much of which is still ongoing several decades after the writing of this book.

[Ronit]

An update of the situation would be very helpful.