Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #111134

Jhumka Gupta, MPH¹, Michele R. Decker, MPH², Anita Raj, PhD³, Ayonija Maheshwari, MD⁴, Gaurav Chaturvedi, MBBS³, and Jay G. Silverman, PhD². (1) Society, Human Development and Health, Harvard University School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Ave., Boston, MA 02115, 617-432-0081, jgupta@hsph.havard.edu, (2) Division of Public Health Practice/Department of Society, Human Development & Health, Harvard University, 677 Huntington Ave., Kresge 705, Boston, MA 02115, (3) Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Boston University School of Public Health, 715 Albany St, T2W, Boston, MA 02118, (4) Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health, Dept of International Health, Baltimore, MD 21009

Sex trafficking has been recognized by the United Nations as a major human rights violation disproportionately affecting women and girls in Asia. Nepal has been identified as a nation at high risk for trafficking. Some 5,000 to 7,000 Nepali women and girls are being trafficked for sex work each year, with the majority being sent to India. Despite these large numbers, little research has been conducted to systematically examine the health concerns and health care needs among women and girls victimized through trafficking. The purpose of this project is to conduct a comprehensive study of acute and chronic health concerns among Nepali women and girls victimized through sex trafficking to Mumbai, India, and also how these concerns are addressed. A comprehensive review of 900-1200 medical records of women and girls rescued from the sex trade in India by Maiti Nepal, an NGO working to rescue and rehabilitate sex trafficking victims, will be conducted to assess age, duration of sexual servitude, recency of release from servitude, recency of repatriation, recency and number of pregnancies, abortions, known miscarriages, STDs, TB, malnutrition, injuries and other noted health concerns. Semi-structured interviews with Maiti Nepal staff and Nepali victims of sex trafficking will also be conducted. Preliminary results will be presented and are expected to elucidate the relations among health concerns and demographics of rescued trafficking victims, and barriers to care.

Learning Objectives:

By the end of the presentation, the participant will be able to (
• describe the health concerns of Nepali women and girls who have been recently released from sex trade in Mumbai, India; (
• recognize the barriers faced by rescued Nepali trafficking victims in receiving adequate health care; and (
• identify chronic health care needs of Nepali women and girls as they recover from life as a trafficked sex worker.

Keywords: Access to Health Care, Sex Workers

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.

Recorded presentation