The Dynamics of Structural, Symbolic and Interpersonal Violence among Female Sex Workers in Bangladesh: Implications for the Global Response against HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis and Sexually Transmitted Infections

As one of 26 nations off-track from the global health sector goals, the concentrated epidemics of HIV, viral hepatitis and STIs in Bangladesh have proven difficult to control. Female sex workers (FSWs) are the largest key population group in Bangladesh and contextually imperative to deescalate epidemic momentum. This investigation rationalizes the structural, symbolic and interpersonal violence experienced across the life course of Bangladeshi FSWs. The population characteristics of low educational attainment and high marital separation are contextualized through a structural violence of embodied inequality perspective that substantiates the influence of childhood marriages that push Bangladeshi women into the sex trade. Bourdieu's theory of symbolic violence is used to conceptualize the material harms derived from the portrayal of FSWs as fallen women divorced from the virtuous ideals of the normative gender identity. The analysis contends that the intersections of structural and symbolic violence act to legitimize and perpetuate interpersonal assaults that oppress the body, suppress the voice and repress the spiritual soul of FSWs in Bangladesh. These sociostructural complexities pragmatically challenge the individualized perspectives of biobehavioral research that monitor the effectiveness of proximal interventions designed to correct recidivistic behaviors. The underlying role of social-collectivism in dismantling violent architecture and improved condom negotiation capacity behind structural shifts in sexual risk behaviors among Bangladeshi FSWs are emphasized to evidence the importance of empowering approaches in pursuit of transformative biobehavioral change.