Negotiating Risk in Intimate Labor: Domestic Workers and Night Nurses in Urban India

A recent spate of violent sexual assaults in Indian metropolises shocked the conscience of the nation and sparked a conversation about women’s safety on the streets of urban India, further reinforcing the view above that women were safest at home.  Indeed, one reason domestic labor remains a major occupational category for poor women is because it is done within the confines of a home.  Yet, most types of intimate labor in the private sphere are unregulated and potentially unsafe, especially when women are young. This paper looks at how two types of workers who perform intimate labor -- domestic workers and night nurses -- seek to navigate physical and “moral” risks as they move between their homes and their place of work.