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Perspectives

Drought conditions forces rural women to migrate into city sex trade

Author : Stella Paul | 2012
Published By: Thomson Reuters Foundation

According to the Andhra Pradesh Human Development Report (2012), 42 percent of the state’s arable land (2.15 million acres) has been degraded, with recurring drought one of the main causes. The worst-hit district is Anantapur, where as much as 70 percent of land is degraded. It also has the highest number of farm suicides of any Indian district - over 4,000 in the past decade alone. Repeated droughts and subsequent suicides of the male members force women into entering sex trade in Hyderabad. With hope to find means of survival, rural women have been migrating to the city for the past decade. But with no formal schooling and absence of any established network at the destination to provide jobs, prostitution is the only option left. As of today (2012), there are over 25,000 sex workers in the city, higher than in any other city of India.

URL : http://www.trust.org/item/20120703081500-vc3h7/

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