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Female Sex Worker Social Networks and STI/HIV Prevention in South China

Reducing harm associated with selling and purchasing sex is an important public health priority in China, yet there are few examples of sustainable, successful programs to promote sexual health among female sex workers. The limited civil society and scope of nongovernmental organizations circumscribe the local capacity of female sex workers to collectively organize, advocate for their rights, and implement STI/HIV prevention programs. The purpose of this study was to examine social networks among low-income female sex workers in South China to determine their potential for sexual health promotion. Methods/Principal Findings: Semi-structured interviews with 34 low-income female sex workers and 28 health

Social Network and Other Correlates of HIV Testing: Findings from Male Sex Workers and Other MSM in Shanghai, China

An article in AIDS and Behaviour. Although the Chinese government provides free-of-charge voluntary HIV counseling and testing, HIV testing rates among men who have sex with men (MSM) are reported to be extremely low. This study examines the association of structural and psychosocial factors and social network characteristics with HIV testing behaviorsamong “money boys” and general MSM in Shanghai. Overall, 28.5% of “money boys” and 50.5% of general MSM had never tested for HIV despite high rates of reported HIV risk behaviors. Factors associated with not testing for HIV included: not knowing of a testing site, limited HIV knowledge, low perceived

Sex trafficking in Cambodia: Fabricated numbers versus empirical evidence

An article in Crime, Law and Social Change Volume 56, Number 5, 443-46. Large numbers of sex trafficking victims, on the order of 80,000–100,000, have been alleged to exist in Cambodia over the past decade. Empirical results obtained from measuring the numbers of such victims in Cambodia are contrasted with the lack of support for the widely circulated guesstimates of these numbers. Examples of similar fabrications are discussed and followed through some of their early publication history. The methodology of conducting empirical field research in less developed countries is discussed and the origin of the guesstimates is probed in detail. Both the

Socio-Demographic Characteristics and Behavioral Risk Factors of Female Sex Workers in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review

Sex work remains an important contributor to HIV transmission within early, advanced and regressing epidemics in sub-Saharan Africa, but its social and behavioral underpinnings remain poorly understood, limiting the impact of HIV prevention initiatives. This article systematically reviews the socio-demographics of female sex workers (FSW) in this region, their occupational contexts and key behavioral risk factors for HIV. In total 128 relevant articles were reviewed following a search of Medline, Web of Science and Anthropological Index. Female sex workers commonly have limited economic options, many dependents, marital disruption, and low education. Their vulnerability to HIV, heightened among young women, is inextricably linked

Basic Rights Denied to Sex Workers Zimbabwe

This article describes the impact of sex work law and police brutality on sex workers in Zimbabwe Locked in a filthy cell that was built for eight inmates, but filled with more than 25 women, Nyasha Maphosa, 32, a sex worker based in the town of Gokwe in the Midlands province, writhes in agony as the torture of the previous night takes its toll on her diminutive figure. She has endured 48 hours of detention after being picked up by the Zimbabwe Republic Police patrol team. The charge: loitering for the purposes of prostitution. At her shabby one bedroom cottage,

HIV and Sex Work in Cambodia

Cambodia is internationally recognized for having successfully reduced its HIV prevalence among the general population from about 3% in 1997 to 0.7% in 2009. Sex work played a significant role in the spread of the HIV epidemic during the nineties. Since 1999, HIV prevalence has declined among direct and indirect sex workers, although levels remain high. The 100% condom use promotion strategy has been credited for having played a major role in the decline of HIV. However, positive outcomes could easily be reversed with the introduction of the 2008 Law on the Suppression of Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation, which

Knowledge About Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) and Attitudes Toward Female Sex Workers With STI Symptoms Among Health Care Providers in Laos

This study assessed the knowledge and attitudes among health care providers providing sexual health services to female sex workers in the border region of Thailand and Vietnam. Attitudes to sex workers were found to be very poor. In total, 244 HCPs providing STI services were interviewed. In all, 54% of respondents had no STI training despite providing STI treatment. Misperceptions of STI causes, transmission routes, and symptoms were common among respondents. Attitudes differed neither between male and female respondents nor between those who had or had not received STI training. A higher proportion of pharmacists/drug sellers (68%) had negative attitudes

The Invisible Men: finding and engaging with the male partners of street sex workers

An article in press for the Journal of Men’s Health. Men, in general, remain less likely than women to seek medical care, and are only half as likely as women to undertake preventive health visits and/or screening tests. There is a great need to increase men’s health awareness and reduce this significant gender disparity. Furthermore, marginalised and socially excluded men rarely access health services, even though the reasons for their social exclusion, particularly drug and alcohol dependency, invariably mean that their need for health interventions is greater than inthe normal population. The Open Doors Sexual Health Service has been working

Men and Development: Politicizing Masculinities

‘Men and Development: Politicizing Masculinities’ includes a chapter entitled ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly: Constructions of Masculinity and Contemporary Understandings of Sex Work’ that looks at men as buyers and sellers of sex and desconstructs the myth of the ‘pimp’. Other contributions challenge the neglect of the structural dimensions of patriarchal power relations in current development policy and practice, and the failure to adequately engage with the effects of inequitable sex and gender orders on both men’s and women’s lives. The book calls for renewed engagement in efforts to challenge and change stereotypes of men, to dismantle the structural

Cost and Performance of HIV/AIDS Control Workers Outreach Program to Direct Female Commercial Sex Workers in Cambodia

This study was undertaken to measure the costs and performance of an outreach programme to direct female commercial sex workers in Cambodia. The study consists of two parts, first a review of all activities of the programme in 20 provinces and 2 major cities in order to calculate the total costs incurred by the programme within its first year of intervention. Second is an analysis of behavioral change of commercial sex workers based on data from a Behavioral Survey. The survey was conducted in five selected provinces, which represent five different regions of the country. 480 commercial sex workers were interviewed. The

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