Table 1

Distribution of variables related to sex work for the different types of FSWs.



Type of female sex workers*



Variable
Variable categories
Street-based (N = 5010) Number (% of N)
Home-based (N = 1499) Number (% of N)
Brothel-based (N = 139) Number (% of N)
Total (N = 6648) Number (% of N)

Age at starting sex work (years)
12–15
191 (3.8%)
356 (23.7%)
33 (23.7%)
580 (8.7%)

16–19
955 (19.1%)
394 (26.3%)
43 (30.9%)
1392 (20.9%)

20–24
1643 (32.8%)
334 (22.3%)
40 (28.8%)
2017 (30.3%)

25–29
1475 (29.4%)
273 (18.3%)
15 (10.8%)
1763 (26.5%)

30–34
578 (11.5%)
109 (7.3%)
5 (3.6%)
692 (10.4%)

> = 35
168 (3.4%)
32 (2.1%)
3 (2.2%)
203 (3.1%)

Duration of being in sex work (years)
1 year or less
916 (18.3%)
174 (11.6%)
23 (16.5%)
1113 (16.7%)

1.1 – 2.0
1060 (21.2%)
195 (13.0%)
18 (12.9%)
1273 (19.1%)

2.1 – 3.0
892 (17.8%)
234 (15.6%)
20 (14.4%)
1146 (17.2%)

3.1 – 4.0
629 (12.6%)
186 (12.4%)
16 (11.5%)
831 (12.5%)

4.1 – 5.0
567 (11.3%)
196 (13.1%)
23 (16.5%)
786 (11.8%)

More than 5
946 (18.9%)
514 (34.3%)
39 (28.1%)
1499 (22.5%)

Number of months practiced sex work in the last 12 months
0–6
409 (8.2%)
59 (3.9%)
12 (8.7%)
480 (7.2%)

7–9
583 (11.6%)
127 (8.5%)
8 (5.8%)
718 (10.8%)

10–12
4016 (80.2%)
1312 (87.6%)
118 (85.5%)
5446 (82%)

Number of paying clients in the last 7 days
None
638 (12.7%)
151 (10.1%)
8 (5.8%)
797 (12.0%)

1–2
631 (12.6%)
156 (10.4%)
5 (3.6%)
792 (11.9%)

3–7
2159 (43.1%)
495 (33.0%)
28 (20.1%)
2682 (40.3%)

8–14
1322 (26.4%)
471 (31.4%)
46 (33.1%)
1839 (27.7%)

15–28
248 (5.0%)
220 (14.7%)
49 (35.3%)
517 (7.8%)

More than 28
12 (0.2%)
6 (0.4%)
3 (2.2%)
21 (0.3%)

Income in the last 7 days from sex work (in Indian Rupees)
None
637 (12.7%)
151 (10.1%)
9 (6.5%)
797 (12.0%)

250 or less (US $5.5 or less)
1688 (33.7%)
292 (19.5%)
14 (10.1%)
1994 (30.0%)

251 – 500
1551 (31.0%)
360 (24.0%)
29 (20.9%)
1940 (29.2%)

More than 500
1132 (22.6%)
696 (46.4%)
87 (62.6%)
1915 (28.8%)

Participation in FSW support group
Yes
433 (8.6%)
152 (10.1%)
15 (10.8%)
600 (9.0%)

No
4576 (91.4%)
1347 (89.9%)
124 (89.2%)
6047 (91.0%)

Family aware of sex work
Yes
1157 (23.1%)
954 (63.6%)
69 (49.6%)
2180 (32.8%)

No
3836 (76.6%)
542 (36.2%)
69 (49.6%)
4447 (66.9%)

Refused to answer
14 (0.3%)
3 (0.2%)
1 (0.7%)
18 (0.3%)

*The total of sub-categories may not always be 5010, 1499, and 139 due to a few missing values for street-, home-, brothel-based FSWs, respectively.

Dandona et al. BMC Public Health 2005 5:87   doi:10.1186/1471-2458-5-87