A first-ever health clinic for sex workers and their families has been opened in Delhi's red-light area, G B Road, with facilities for routine check-ups and treatment.

The clinic was inaugurated on Sunday. It has been started in a part of a non-functional school by some civil society groups.

Shalini (name changed), a sex worker, said she hopes the facility will help her fight the stigma that she faces in visiting clinics in other parts of the city.

"Even doctors start behaving differently when they learn we are sex workers and this clinic can help change that as it is meant just for people like us," she told PTI.

NGO Sewa Bharti started this clinic in collaboration with Utkarsh Initiative to provide medical facilities to sex workers and their families. This clinic will have seven doctors.

"We have started this initiative on the first day of the year to start this year with the right initiative catering to the secluded and exploited strata of the society," said Sushil Gupta, General Secretary of Sewa Bharti Delhi Province.

He said this is the first such clinic in the area and aims to solve the health issues faced by the sex workers while maintaining their dignity and respect.

G B Road, or Garstin Bastion Road, is a road running from Ajmeri Gate to Lahori Gate in Delhi. It is a red-light district which has many brothels and there are estimated to be over 1,000 sex workers.

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