Education
Strategy
Children of Sex Workers
AIF Experiences and Learnings
Some initial developments that have emerged are:
- Abject poverty is not necessarily the main issue in sex work (as far as our interventions are concerned) whether in a metro, urban or rural context. The challenge is much more the social exclusion and psychological stress that these children suffer from.
- It is extremely helpful to have programs where these children can mix and work together with non sex work children.
- Involving the mothers in supporting the education of their children, and contributing to the actual running of the program in various ways, helps them develop a sense of self-worth.
- The 6-14 year age group, our predominant focus in all of our other programs, is not the critical age in the case of these girls – even though they may be schooled successfully till elementary, they may at puberty, still get pushed into sex work. These girls need to be supported till at least 18 years.
- Vocational inputs have to be integral to any education intervention for these girls, and they need to be supported all the way from training to placement, with follow up till they get established.
- Some steps have already been taken by the government to not insist on the name of the father at the time of admission. Similarly, such flexibility needs to be ensured in schools, to facilitate the participation of these children.