Having been apprehended as a child was also marginally significant (at a level of p<0.10) in our final multivariable model (AOR = 1.48; 95%CI 0.90–2.43), and age was not statistically significant (AOR = 1.00 (95% 0.97–1.03)).
This study is among the first quantitative studies to examine the correlates of child apprehensions among marginalized and stigmatized populations such as sex workers.Our findings lend support to existing qualitative studies that suggest there is a cyclical nature to child apprehensions; sex workers who had been apprehended as a child had 48% increased odds of having their children taken away from them, though this only retained marginal significance when adjusted for other factors in multivariate analysis, suggesting other mechanisms may drive this risk.