Pathways
Exploring Positive Approaches to Sexuality
2007 - 2011
Lead Researcher: Susie Jolly
This research project looked at a small number of cases of local, national or regional initiatives on sexual rights and women’s empowerment that have succeeded in creating spaces for challenging repressive social norms concerning female sexuality. It looked at the interactions with international influences, including religious and development institutions.
Resources For This Project
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Everything You Wanted to Know about Pleasurable Safer Sex but were Afraid to Ask
This review came from an original evidence review of women’s empowerment and sexuality. It is based on the available but admittedly limited research that exists on safer sex, sexuality and pleasure. Whilst acknowledging the limitations, the hope is that this document can enable practitioners to enhance their sexuality education and sexual health programmes and activities, while giving researchers, funders and programmes evidence and encouragement to consider increasing their focus on sex and pleasure for people of all sexual identities and in all settings and contexts. …
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Sexuality And Empowerment: An Intimate Connection
What does sexuality have to do with women’s empowerment? Research from the Pathways of Women’s Empowerment RPC shows that sexuality affects women’s political and economic empowerment in a number of important ways. For example, in the ways that women experience seeking election to political office, how women are treated and respected (or disrespected) in the workplace and in public, and how families and communities place expectations on how women should behave. Being exposed to sexual harassment and sexual violence and not being able to exercise choice in their sexual relationships affects women’s well-being and ultimately undermines political, social and economic empowerment. In this policy paper, we demonstrate why sexuality is so important for women’s empowerment, drawing on evidence generated by research carried out by the Pathways of Women’s Empowerment RPC and collaborative initiatives with the DFID-funded IDS Sexuality and Development Programme. …
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Sex Work And Its Linkages With Informal Labour Markets In India, IDS Working Paper 416
Based on the results of the First Pan-India Survey of Female Sex Workers (n=3000), this paper positions sex work within the broader spectrum of informal labour markets that women engage with in India. It puts forth an important dimension missing so far in sex work studies in India – of sex workers with prior or simultaneous labour market work experience. Informal labour markets act as important sites/junctures linking poverty with sex work. For a substantial proportion of respondents, sex work was not their first experience of paid work. …
