Ross, M: Fractured Families

The reasons why African women become engaged in sex work have received little attention in academic research. While it is largely acknowledged that there exists a connection between entering the sex trade and poverty, not all women who are poor enter sex work. Through the use of life histories with 21 women between the ages of 18 and 42, this book explores the combination of factors that lead women and girls to become commercial sex workers in Nairobi, Kenya. The life histories provide a detailed look at initiation into sex work as it occurs over the life course for women and girls in this context. Additionally, this book examines how structural violence impinges on the lives of women, thereby increasing their vulnerability to engagement in sex work. In Nairobi, many girls are losing caregiver support by being orphaned, while additionally, women are burdened with providing total economic and social support for the family in a society that has gendered economic opportunities. Both girls and women are left with few options other than the sex trade to survive.