Abstract:

Sex work is a major public health problem worldwide. Although prostitution or sex work is a global and deeply rooted social phenomenon, substantial disparity exists in its perception, depending on different social and cultural factors. Women engaging in sex work may be exposed to serious health risks and exposure to highly stressful life events which may have long term implications on their mental health. This cross-sectional study was done in drop-in center ‘Swajan-33’ in Sylhet district within a period of one year among 105 respondents aged of 14 to 38 years of age to assess the association between their socio-demographic characteristics and mental stress. Data were collected by face to face interview through a pretested structured questionnaire. Perceived Stress Scale was used to assess the level of mental stress. Data collected from purposively selected respondents. The analysis of data reveals that, more than half 53.3% of the respondents were in age group between 14 to 23 years and their mean age was 23.98 years with SD±6.099 years, Muslim 65%, illiterate 49.5%, majority 59% had daily income of 600-1000 taka. The finding of this study showed that 85.7% were suffering from high perceived stress and 14.3% were suffering from moderate stress. Age, level of education, income was not associated with level of mental stress (p>0.05). Literacy rate among the female sex workers are still low and invariably they are suffering from high perceived mental stress. Policies for their financial independency such as technical education, allocation of isolated educational institution, increasing social support may help them to lead a prosperous life.

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