Multidimensional Vulnerabilities of Children of Female Sex Workers: A Scoping Review

Children of female sex workers (FSWs) face multidimensional vulnerabilities that remain underexplored. This scoping review mapped evidence on health, psychosocial, educational, and structural vulnerabilities among children of FSWs, identified gaps, and highlighted policy implications. Fifteen studies met the inclusion criteria. Findings were clustered into three domains. Psychosocial: children experienced stigma, bullying, behavioral problems, and intergenerational trauma. Educational: barriers to enrollment, retention, and attainment arose from discrimination, poverty, mobility, and lack of documentation. Structural/health: children faced food insecurity, unstable housing, low HIV testing, preventable mortality, and limited legal protection. Most existing research originates from a few regions, employs different designs, and primarily describes problems rather than testing solutions. Very few long-term studies or intervention-focused studies exist. Addressing the needs requires integrated, stigma-free, rights-based interventions linking maternal-child health, education, social protection, and legal safeguards.