Australia is an apt landscape upon which to measure the success of mandatory testing of HIV and sexually transmissible infections (STIs) among sex workers. Mandatory testing is implemented in some Australian jurisdict...Australia is an apt landscape upon which to measure the success of mandatory testing of HIV and sexually transmissible infections (STIs) among sex workers. Mandatory testing is implemented in some Australian jurisdictions and not others, allowing for a comprehensive comparison of the outcomes. It is apparent that mandatory testing of HIV and STIs among sex workers in Australia has proven to be a barrier to otherwise successful HIV and STI peer education, prevention and free and anonymous testing and treatment. The outcomes of mandatory testing are counterproductive to reducing HIV and STI rates, do not reach the intended target group, are costly and inefficient, and mandatory testing has proven to be a very difficult policy to repeal once in place. Scarlet Alliance, the Australian Sex Workers Association, as well as numerous academics and policy leaders in Australia recommend against mandatory testing of HIV and STIs among sex workers.展开更多
Traditional Devadasi system based sex work (dhandha) is practiced inIndia. The communities that practice this system are affected severely by AIDS epidemic. Through this paper we present the views of gharwalis (brothe...Traditional Devadasi system based sex work (dhandha) is practiced inIndia. The communities that practice this system are affected severely by AIDS epidemic. Through this paper we present the views of gharwalis (brothel madams) regarding the impact of AIDS on the traditional system (Devadasi system) of initiating girls as sex workers (Devadasis) and on the practice of sex work (dhandha) associated with that system. Qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with twelve gharwalis as a follow-up of a cohort study, which investigated the patterns and determinants of sex worker migration from northern Karnataka to southern Maharashtra, in India. According to gharwalis, the disease (AIDS) consequences;death, fear and stigma affected dhandha operations, changed the attitude of the Devadasi community against the practice of dhandha and the Devadasi system, besides, influenced the community to take actions to stop the practice of dhandha and the Devadasi system. The findings suggest that the interplay between the disease consequences and the community’s response to those consequences contribute to transition dhandha and the Devadasi system. We discuss our findings, describe the transition and the consequent risk enhancing conditions. Finally, highlight the need to address these conditions to reduce Devadasis risk and vulnerability to HIV infection.展开更多
A study was undertaken in Kiribati, a small Pacific island nation, that has a low-level HIV epidemic but a high incidence of STIs among seafarers, their spouses (and children), and those involved in sex work. There ar...A study was undertaken in Kiribati, a small Pacific island nation, that has a low-level HIV epidemic but a high incidence of STIs among seafarers, their spouses (and children), and those involved in sex work. There are connections between development and dependency and HIV risk in Kiribati. Kiribati is a peripheral and dependent small island state underwritten by conditional aid and financial assistance and advice from donor countries, entwined in, and subject to, external globalising processes. We found two major factors related to Kiribati’s dependency engendered HIV risk. The first is Kiribati’s reliance on transnational seafaring. Long periods away from home, shipboard and port mateship cultures, and infrequent condom use in casual and paid sexual relations while in overseas ports, exacerbated by heavy alcohol use, have rendered i-Kiribati seafarers vulnerable to HIV. The second factor is related to the labour force participation of young women, which is extremely limited. In this context, some young i-Kiribati women choose to work on board, foreign fishing vessels selling sex. They stay with one client while on board a boat—for up to three months—and sex work is not only an economic transaction, but also emotional and affective labour. It is a pattern that makes consistent condom use problematic. Having multiple sequential seafarer partners may in fact generate considerable HIV vulnerability.展开更多
Gweru Women AIDS Prevention Association （GWAPA） is an organization that works with commercial sex-workers in the Midlands Province to try and stymie the tide of HIV/AIDS. The organization premises its activities upo...Gweru Women AIDS Prevention Association （GWAPA） is an organization that works with commercial sex-workers in the Midlands Province to try and stymie the tide of HIV/AIDS. The organization premises its activities upon the belief that sex workers are forced into prostitution by poverty and thus offers them alternative livelihood strategies such as piggery projects, chicken rearing, and vegetable vending projects as well as seed money with which to start flea market projects. The organization also runs a condom promotion project, a legal literacy project, and an advocacy project, all in a bid to empower the sex workers cognitively. The study was carried out between April and October 2008, using bar-based observations, interviews, focus group discussions, and documentary evidence. The study found participation to have been more of a fallacy in as far as programming depended more on the whims of donor funders than the actual needs of programme beneficiaries. In the top-down manner that is typical of development communication, the organization would engage donors and secure funding for certain projects which they would then try to convince the sex workers to take up, with mixed results. The research also found limited evidence of real empowerment of beneficiaries in the long run, with the sex workers themselves insisting that the ＂piece-meal＂ efforts of the organization were not sustainable enough to induce them to abandon sex work altogether. The study did, however, find that the organization and its programming had actually managed to score notable success in promoting safer sex within the context of prostitution, albeit without eradicating sex work altogether.展开更多
Background: The gap in the understanding of the context of the sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and risky behaviours among men who have sex with men (MSM) could lead to the development and implementation of inap...Background: The gap in the understanding of the context of the sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and risky behaviours among men who have sex with men (MSM) could lead to the development and implementation of inappropriate interventions, which could exacerbate the rapid spread of STIs, especially HIV, among MSM. The aim of the study was to qualitatively assess the understanding of the STIs and the risky sexual behaviours of men who have sex with men in the North-West region of Tshwane. Methods: An exploratory qualitative design was employed to assess the STIs and the risky sexual behaviour of the MSM population. The study participants were enrolled in an HPV clinical trial at MECRU, which is a clinical research unit at the Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University. Data collection occurred from September 2016 to May 2017. A convenience sampling method was used and n = 30 participants were selected. Face-to-face in-depth interviews were conducted on MSM 18 years and older, using a semi-structured interview guide. Thematic content analysis was used for data analysis, using NVivo version 10 software. Results: The mean age of the sample was 26 years, and the age range was 18 to 44 years. All were unmarried, and all of them came from townships, rural villages and informal settlements in the vicinity of the clinical research unit. The high-risk behaviours noted among the majority of the MSM in this study were having multiple sexual partners and exchanging partners, alcohol abuse, inconsistent condom-use, having unprotected anal sex, and having transactional sex. There was a high level of knowledge of STIs in the heterosexual population with poor understanding of STIs affecting MSM through anal sex. Most of the MSM played a female or bottom role, which made them vulnerable because they could not successfully negotiate condom use, and they reported that they sometimes accepted gifts or money in exchange for anal sex. Conclusion: The study concludes that the MSM in this study had casual sex, and are involved in sex w展开更多
文摘Australia is an apt landscape upon which to measure the success of mandatory testing of HIV and sexually transmissible infections (STIs) among sex workers. Mandatory testing is implemented in some Australian jurisdictions and not others, allowing for a comprehensive comparison of the outcomes. It is apparent that mandatory testing of HIV and STIs among sex workers in Australia has proven to be a barrier to otherwise successful HIV and STI peer education, prevention and free and anonymous testing and treatment. The outcomes of mandatory testing are counterproductive to reducing HIV and STI rates, do not reach the intended target group, are costly and inefficient, and mandatory testing has proven to be a very difficult policy to repeal once in place. Scarlet Alliance, the Australian Sex Workers Association, as well as numerous academics and policy leaders in Australia recommend against mandatory testing of HIV and STIs among sex workers.
文摘Traditional Devadasi system based sex work (dhandha) is practiced inIndia. The communities that practice this system are affected severely by AIDS epidemic. Through this paper we present the views of gharwalis (brothel madams) regarding the impact of AIDS on the traditional system (Devadasi system) of initiating girls as sex workers (Devadasis) and on the practice of sex work (dhandha) associated with that system. Qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with twelve gharwalis as a follow-up of a cohort study, which investigated the patterns and determinants of sex worker migration from northern Karnataka to southern Maharashtra, in India. According to gharwalis, the disease (AIDS) consequences;death, fear and stigma affected dhandha operations, changed the attitude of the Devadasi community against the practice of dhandha and the Devadasi system, besides, influenced the community to take actions to stop the practice of dhandha and the Devadasi system. The findings suggest that the interplay between the disease consequences and the community’s response to those consequences contribute to transition dhandha and the Devadasi system. We discuss our findings, describe the transition and the consequent risk enhancing conditions. Finally, highlight the need to address these conditions to reduce Devadasis risk and vulnerability to HIV infection.
文摘A study was undertaken in Kiribati, a small Pacific island nation, that has a low-level HIV epidemic but a high incidence of STIs among seafarers, their spouses (and children), and those involved in sex work. There are connections between development and dependency and HIV risk in Kiribati. Kiribati is a peripheral and dependent small island state underwritten by conditional aid and financial assistance and advice from donor countries, entwined in, and subject to, external globalising processes. We found two major factors related to Kiribati’s dependency engendered HIV risk. The first is Kiribati’s reliance on transnational seafaring. Long periods away from home, shipboard and port mateship cultures, and infrequent condom use in casual and paid sexual relations while in overseas ports, exacerbated by heavy alcohol use, have rendered i-Kiribati seafarers vulnerable to HIV. The second factor is related to the labour force participation of young women, which is extremely limited. In this context, some young i-Kiribati women choose to work on board, foreign fishing vessels selling sex. They stay with one client while on board a boat—for up to three months—and sex work is not only an economic transaction, but also emotional and affective labour. It is a pattern that makes consistent condom use problematic. Having multiple sequential seafarer partners may in fact generate considerable HIV vulnerability.
文摘Gweru Women AIDS Prevention Association （GWAPA） is an organization that works with commercial sex-workers in the Midlands Province to try and stymie the tide of HIV/AIDS. The organization premises its activities upon the belief that sex workers are forced into prostitution by poverty and thus offers them alternative livelihood strategies such as piggery projects, chicken rearing, and vegetable vending projects as well as seed money with which to start flea market projects. The organization also runs a condom promotion project, a legal literacy project, and an advocacy project, all in a bid to empower the sex workers cognitively. The study was carried out between April and October 2008, using bar-based observations, interviews, focus group discussions, and documentary evidence. The study found participation to have been more of a fallacy in as far as programming depended more on the whims of donor funders than the actual needs of programme beneficiaries. In the top-down manner that is typical of development communication, the organization would engage donors and secure funding for certain projects which they would then try to convince the sex workers to take up, with mixed results. The research also found limited evidence of real empowerment of beneficiaries in the long run, with the sex workers themselves insisting that the ＂piece-meal＂ efforts of the organization were not sustainable enough to induce them to abandon sex work altogether. The study did, however, find that the organization and its programming had actually managed to score notable success in promoting safer sex within the context of prostitution, albeit without eradicating sex work altogether.
文摘Background: The gap in the understanding of the context of the sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and risky behaviours among men who have sex with men (MSM) could lead to the development and implementation of inappropriate interventions, which could exacerbate the rapid spread of STIs, especially HIV, among MSM. The aim of the study was to qualitatively assess the understanding of the STIs and the risky sexual behaviours of men who have sex with men in the North-West region of Tshwane. Methods: An exploratory qualitative design was employed to assess the STIs and the risky sexual behaviour of the MSM population. The study participants were enrolled in an HPV clinical trial at MECRU, which is a clinical research unit at the Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University. Data collection occurred from September 2016 to May 2017. A convenience sampling method was used and n = 30 participants were selected. Face-to-face in-depth interviews were conducted on MSM 18 years and older, using a semi-structured interview guide. Thematic content analysis was used for data analysis, using NVivo version 10 software. Results: The mean age of the sample was 26 years, and the age range was 18 to 44 years. All were unmarried, and all of them came from townships, rural villages and informal settlements in the vicinity of the clinical research unit. The high-risk behaviours noted among the majority of the MSM in this study were having multiple sexual partners and exchanging partners, alcohol abuse, inconsistent condom-use, having unprotected anal sex, and having transactional sex. There was a high level of knowledge of STIs in the heterosexual population with poor understanding of STIs affecting MSM through anal sex. Most of the MSM played a female or bottom role, which made them vulnerable because they could not successfully negotiate condom use, and they reported that they sometimes accepted gifts or money in exchange for anal sex. Conclusion: The study concludes that the MSM in this study had casual sex, and are involved in sex w
