https://restofworld.org/2023/india-sex-workers-online-safety/ Skip to content Reporting Global Tech Stories South AsiaCreators & CommunitiesIndia's sex workers turn to WhatsApp, Instagram to find clients safely Search [ ] [Go] Search [ ] [Go] Explore * Latest Stories * Access & Connectivity * Creators & Communities * E-commerce * Innovation * Labor * Money * Politics * The Platform Economy Learn More * About us * Work with us * Team news Stay Connected Follow along * * * * * * * * Get the newsletter Get all our stories delivered Name [ ] Email [ ] [Sign Up] Dark Mode ( ) (*) ( ) Creators & Communities India's sex workers turn to WhatsApp, Instagram to find clients safely While these spaces help sex workers gauge their clients before agreeing to meet them, going digital comes with risks. An illustration of a woman's face in green tones clipped to a virtual chat screen against a black background. Daniel Zender for Rest of World Daniel Zender for Rest of World By Qadri Inzamam 17 July 2023 * New Delhi, India * After the pandemic affected the livelihood of sex workers in India, several migrated to digital spaces in order to continue their work. * Sex workers use platforms like WhatsApp, Telegram, and Instagram to connect with clients, but their presence on the internet is replete with risks and challenges. Sunita Dhokne's life came to a standstill during the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020. She could not meet her clients outside due to movement restrictions in her city Sangli, nor bring them home as she didn't want her daughter to know she was a sex worker. When Dhokne's friend lent her a smartphone to find work online, she didn't know how to use it. "I had always used a black-and-white [feature phone]," the 35-year-old told Rest of World. Dhokne's friends enrolled her in an online workshop that equips sex workers with the skills to use the internet safely. The workshop, conducted by Mumbai-based nonprofit Point of View, touched upon the basics of operating a smartphone and using WhatsApp to safely share photos and videos -- attendees learned how they could use veils and masks while taking photos or during live performances over video calls. "It was empowering. My life changed and my work picked up," Dhokne said. "I would talk to my clients on WhatsApp, and send them photos or videos, as per their demands. They would then transfer money to my friend's account." She now uses WhatsApp to interact with her clients before meeting them in person. "We would tell them that using the internet securely is as important as getting a client to wear a condom to protect yourself from HIV." Like Dhokne, many sex workers in India have started using apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, and Instagram to safely work online since the pandemic. The country's growing usage of smartphones -- India has over 600 million smartphone users -- has extended to the area of sex work. According to a 2019 academic report, there's a "trend of mobile phone-based client solicitation among [female sex workers] in India ... moving away from soliciting in public venues, thereby enhancing desired anonymity as well as reduced presence of intermediaries such as brothel owners, brokers, and other middlemen." Workshops on online safety with sex work, conducted by nonprofits like Point of View and Solidarity Foundation, have helped facilitate this shift. Sex workers across Sangli in Maharashtra and West Bengal's capital city Kolkata told Rest of World they also used WhatsApp and other platforms to seek help in times of distress. "During the pandemic, a lot of sex workers lost their livelihood and faced severe economic crises. This is when a large number migrated to digital spaces in order to continue their work and earn a living," Ajita Banerjie, a gender and sexuality rights activist based in New Delhi, told Rest of World. Though private prostitution is legal in India, soliciting, running brothels, and carrying out sex work in a hotel remain illegal. The Supreme Court issued guidelines for sex workers in 2022, aimed at ensuring they were treated with dignity and respect, but the community remains marginalized and vulnerable to harassment, health risks, and violence. Using technology, therefore, has been a boon for sex workers, as it helps keep them safe. For instance, Renuka Kale, a 29-year-old sex worker in Sangli, told Rest of World that whenever she is out late at night, she sends her live location via WhatsApp to her friends. A 2017 study noted that a significant proportion of female sex workers considered mobile phones to be "very useful or pretty indispensable" for activities related to sex work. Researchers have argued that digital literacy has eliminated, to some extent, harassment and abuse of sex workers in public spaces where they connect with their clients. But despite the benefits of tech for sex workers, the digital landscape also leaves them vulnerable to risk and exploitation. Bishakha Datta, founder of Point of View, told Rest of World that when Android phones came to India, the organization realized sex workers were among the early adopters from low-income groups of women. "We realized back then [that] sex workers did not know enough about how to use those phones securely," she said. "We felt it was really important that they should be empowered and be made secure in the online spaces." One of the concerns many sex workers brought up at Point of View's tech literacy workshops was non-consensual photography and videography by clients. "We would tell them that using the internet securely is as important as getting a client to wear a condom to protect yourself from HIV," Datta said. "We also need smartphones for our work because time is changing, everyone is online." When Kale began carrying out sex work through WhatsApp in 2019, she would text in Hindi, share her photos, and send emojis to attract clients. It worked. She had more clients than ever before. But one day, a man showed her a photo she had sent to a different client. "I had sent it to a client on demand. It was supposed to be with him only. But he had circulated it around and it was with everyone," she told Rest of World. Worried about her safety, Kale attended a training session with Point of View, where she realized she had the right to consent in a digital space. "I learned how to take photos for the clients without the risk of revealing my identity. Also, I began telling my clients that the photos I shared with them were for them only and that they should not share them with others," Kale said. Kale now uses a private Instagram account under a pseudonym. "I upload my photos and videos on it for my clients," she said. Suvarna Mhetre, 32, also a sex worker based in Sangli, told Rest of World her work has taken off since her partner gifted her a smartphone. "I am getting more clients than before through WhatsApp," she said. Different clients ask for different services through WhatsApp, and she keeps them hooked with messages and emojis, she said. "They feel attracted to me on WhatsApp and then they meet me for sex," said Kale. Having a smartphone is not a luxury anymore, Urmila Tangade, a 29-year-old sex worker based in Kolkata, told Rest of World. "It is like having a laptop for an office-going person. They need it for work. We also need smartphones for our work because time is changing, everyone is online," she said. For Charu from Kolkata, who asked to be identified only by her first name for privacy reasons, keeping her smartphone hidden at home is a daily challenge. She uses a second phone for sex work, and would face problems if her family found it, she told Rest of World. But as the profession of sex work remains in a legal gray area in India, soliciting online comes with risks attached, said Banerjie. The growing use of the internet and smartphones has left sex workers vulnerable to "surveillance, fear of doxxing and other cybercrimes, and lack of protections against these harms," she said. Qadri Inzamam is an independent journalist based out of New Delhi. Read more stories A photo of call center employees working at their office desks. The Rise of AI AI tools spark anxiety among Philippines' call center workers A senator calls the rise of AI "an inevitable technological tsunami." By Paul Nicholas Soriano A screenshot from the music streaming app Trebel, placed inside an iPhone wireframe and overlaid on a picture of traffic in Mexico City. Access & Connectivity The music streaming app for those who can't pay for downloads Ad-driven Trebel has scooped up 13 million users across Latin America who don't want to pay for YouTube or Spotify. By Daniela Dib A photo collage illustration of a black and white photo of a hand holding a mobile phone and inside the phone is a color screenshot from a commercial depicting a women laughing while driving a car, over an orange gradient background. Latin America Newsletter Latin Americans' social feeds are being flooded with AI-generated ads Brands and politicians are getting mixed results. By Alex Gonzalez Ormerod * * * * * * * * * About us * Jobs * Privacy Policy * Platforms * Newsletters * Donate * Contact us (c) Rest of World 2020-2023