Damanjodi is a small mining town nestled in the verdant hills of Orissa, in the east of India. The skyline is dominated by a sprawling network of mines, refineries and factory buildings. They are owned and run by Nalco, Asia’s largest aluminium producer. Men come from all over the country to seek employment, creating a large migrant workforce with money to spend and time on their hands. In their wake, women come too, seeking work of a different kind. There are more than 500 women engaged in prostitution in Damanjodi and its satellite towns. Their poverty drives them to sex work out of desperation and in the terrible knowledge that the risk of contracting HIV goes with the territory.
The Collected Works of Kevin EG Perry 