Geography of police repression and regulation of street based khwaja sira sex workers in Lahore

This paper looks at street-level strategies employed by the police in their everyday interactions with khwaja sira sex workers using the lens of peripheralization. The findings of this study, based on 35 in-depth interviews with street-based khwaja sira sex workers in Lahore, suggest three important...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:City (London, England) England), 2024-03, Vol.28 (1-2), p.143-160
Main Author: Bano, Shermeen
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Economic resources
Geography
Manipulation
Marginality
Pakistan
Police
police repression
Safety regulations
Securitization
Sex industry
Sex workers
Socioeconomic factors
violence
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Summary:This paper looks at street-level strategies employed by the police in their everyday interactions with khwaja sira sex workers using the lens of peripheralization. The findings of this study, based on 35 in-depth interviews with street-based khwaja sira sex workers in Lahore, suggest three important strategies of police repression. These include territorialization; securitization and manipulation of violence across urban centers and peripheries. The paper argues that police repression of khwaja sira sex workers serves to disconnect them from urban centers, key social ties and safety nets, and socio-economic resources critical for their respectful survival in the city. The result is the peripheralization of khwaja sira individuals and their communities, increased dependence on precarious/traditional forms of khwaja sira livelihoods including sex work, and production of difference and marginality.
ISSN:1360-4813
1470-3629
DOI:10.1080/13604813.2024.2322383