Characteristics of Female Sex Workers With US Clients in Two Mexico-US Border Cities

Strathdee, Steffanie A.; Lozada, Remedios; Semple, Shirley J.; Orozovich, Prisci; Pu, Minya; Staines-Orozco, Hugo; Fraga-Vallejo, Miguel; Amaro, Hortensia; DeLaTorre, Adela; Magis-Rodríguez, Carlos; Patterson, Thomas L.

doi:10.1097/olq.0b013e31815b0

Cited by 74 publications

(83 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Previous quantitative studies with female sex workers in Tijuana have highlighted the prevalence of risk behaviours among this population, including inconsistent condom use and injection drug use and the role of individual-based behaviour change models as a health promotion strategy (Patterson et al 2005(Patterson et al , 2008Strathdee et al 2008). The findings from the current study add to the results of these previous studies by highlighting the importance of incorporating how female sex workers define their health and body and identify the barriers and motivations for healthy lives.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 62%

‘As prostitutes, we control our bodies’: perceptions of health and body in the lives of establishment-based female sex workers in Tijuana, Mexico

Choudhury

2010

Culture, Health & Sexuality

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Many studies of female sex work focus on HIV and other sexually transmitted infections because sex workers are considered bridges between high-risk and low-risk populations. The voices of female sex workers as they pertain to health issues are often lacking in the literature. This paper offers a feminist constructivist grounded theory study with establishment-based female sex workers in Tijuana, Mexico. Analyses of interviews with 20 women reveal that they are aware of the impact of their work on their bodies, but conceptualise their health holistically and not just in terms of HIV. They emphasise that working in the sex industry has implications for sexual health, non-sexual physical health and mental health. The paper concludes that in order for public health interventions to have more sustainable impact on the lives of female sex workers, they should take into account the voices of the women, including how they define their health. The findings suggest that public health professionals need to be more aware that female sex workers have agency and a desire to control their health and their bodies.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 62%

‘As prostitutes, we control our bodies’: perceptions of health and body in the lives of establishment-based female sex workers in Tijuana, Mexico

Choudhury

2010

Culture, Health & Sexuality

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“…3 Lastly, FSWs who inject drugs may be more willing to have unprotected sex for a higher payment to support their drug habit. 13,19,20 The context of sex work plays a role in FSWs' risk of HIV transmission. [21][22][23][24][25][26][27] In recent years, there has been an increasing acknowledgement of and interest in the role of social and structural factors in influencing risk behaviors and HIV/STI transmission.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[9][10][11] Other STIs, which increase the risk for HIV acquisition and transmission, have also been repeatedly found to be more prevalent among FSWs as compared with other women. [12][13][14][15][16][17] Additionally, research has documented high rates of both injection and non-injection drug use among FSWs. 18 The synergistic relationship between drug use and transactional sex is bidirectional.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Correlates of Current Transactional Sex among a Sample of Female Exotic Dancers in Baltimore, MD

et al. 2011

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Transactional sex work, broadly defined as the exchange of money, drugs, or goods for sexual services, occurs in a wide range of environments. There is a large body of research characterizing the risks and harms associated with street- and venue-based sex work, but there is a dearth of research characterizing the risk associated with the environment of exotic dance clubs. The current study aimed to: (1) characterize the nature of female exotic dancers' sex- and drug-related risk behaviors, (2) to examine the role of the club environment in these behaviors, and (3) to examine correlates of currently exchanging sex. From June 2008 to February 2009, we conducted a cross-sectional study among women who were aged 18 years or older and reported exotic dancing within the past 3 months (n = 98). The survey ascertained socio-demographic characteristics, personal health, medical history, sexual practices, drug use, and employment at clubs on the block. Bivariate and multivariate Poisson regression with robust variance was used to identify correlates of current sex exchange. Participants were a median of 24 years old, and were 58% white; 43% had not completed high school. Seventy-four percent reported ever having been arrested. Twenty-six percent reported having injected heroin and 29% reported having smoked crack in the past 3 months. Fifty-seven percent reported using drugs in the club in the past 3 months. Sixty-one percent had ever engaged in transactional sex, and 67% of those did so for the first time after beginning to dance. Forty-three percent reported selling any sex in the club in the past 3 months. In multiple Poisson regression, factors associated with current sex exchange included: race, ever having been arrested, and using drugs in the club. High levels of both drug use and transactional sex among this sample of exotic dancers were reported. These findings indicate that there are a number of drug- and sex-related harms faced by exotic dancers in strip clubs, implicating the environment in the promotion of HIV/STI risk-taking behaviors. Prevention and intervention programs targeting this population are needed to reduce the harms faced by exotic dancers in this environment.

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“…More than two-thirds of FSWs in Tijuana and Cd. Juarez reported being patronized by clients from the United States; these women were more likely to inject drugs, have syphilis, and report having unprotected sex for higher pay (61). In a study of 400 US and Mexican men who had paid for sex with FSWs in Tijuana, 50% reported having unprotected sex with FSWs within the past four months (48) that was associated with drug use during sex (21).…”

Section: Brief Skills-based Interventions To Increase Condom Use Amomentioning

confidence: 99%

HIV Prevention Among Women in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Intervening Upon Contexts of Heightened HIV Risk

Strathdee

Wechsberg

Kerrigan

et al. 2013

Annu. Rev. Public Health

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Women's vulnerability to HIV infection is influenced by contextual factors in the risk environment that operate at multiple levels (i.e., physical, social, economic, policy). We present three case studies that illustrate combination approaches to HIV prevention among women who are at heightened risk for infection, especially sex workers, in low-and middleincome countries (LMICs). Lessons learned from these case studies are consistent with international literature promoting interventions that combine sexual risk reduction, condom promotion, and improved access to sexually transmitted infection (STI) treatment in the context of structural interventions, including policy change and empowerment of sex workers to reduce their vulnerability to HIV/STIs. We suggest avenues for future research and new intervention targets as well as a more nuanced approach to understanding the structural and social vulnerability of women to HIV infection in these settings.

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Characteristics of Female Sex Workers With US Clients in Two Mexico-US Border Cities

Abstract: In these border cities, FSWs reporting US clients were more likely to have current STIs and to engage in higher-risk behaviors. Intensified binational prevention efforts involving both FSWs and their clients are urgently needed.

Cited by 74 publications

References 19 publications

‘As prostitutes, we control our bodies’: perceptions of health and body in the lives of establishment-based female sex workers in Tijuana, Mexico

‘As prostitutes, we control our bodies’: perceptions of health and body in the lives of establishment-based female sex workers in Tijuana, Mexico

Correlates of Current Transactional Sex among a Sample of Female Exotic Dancers in Baltimore, MD

HIV Prevention Among Women in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Intervening Upon Contexts of Heightened HIV Risk

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