Kolkata: Six sex workers of Sonagachi, Asia's largest red light area in the city, have been trained by professional psychiatrists to provide inputs for a comprehensive database of the mental health condition of sex workers.

This is the first such initiative aimed at combatting mental distress, depression among sex workers. The Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee (DMSC), an NGO working for the development and uplift of the sex workers of the state, in coordination with an NGO have formed the team of six sex workers for the project. They have been trained by psychiatrists to look for symptoms of mental distress among sex workers and initiate early stages of counselling.