Sexual risk behaviours, HIV and other sexually transmitted infections among female sex workers in Indonesia

Abstract

The HIV/AIDS epidemic among FSW in Indonesia appears to be expanding, albeit unevenly across provinces and types of FSW. High STI prevalence is conducive to further expansion, but recent efforts to strengthen STI control appear promising.

Syphilis among female sex workers in Indonesia: need and opportunity for intervention

“…Prevalence of gonococcal and chlamydial infection was also very high among FSWs in our survey, as previously reported4 5; the prevalence was lower among FSWs who had accessed the PPT programme. We demonstrated recently the importance of providing syndromic treatment with new and adequate drugs (cefixime and azithromycin instead of ciprofloxacin and doxycycline) after completing PPT for a sustainable decline in prevalence 6.…”

“…Although the prevalence of HIV among Indonesian female sex workers (FSWs) has remained modest in comparison with those in other countries in the Asia region, the prevalence of other STIs is relatively high 4 5. Previous reports have documented high prevalence of gonorrhoea and chlamydia among FSWs and interventions, such a periodic presumptive treatment (PPT), are being implemented 6.…”

Correlates of HIV infection among street-based and venue-based sex workers in Vietnam

“…The comparatively higher levels of risk behaviours and HIV prevalence observed among SSWs are in line with previous studies and reinforce the idea that prevention interventions should take into consideration the structure of commercial sex work with regard to different subpopulations of FSWs. [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] Among various risk behaviours, injecting drug use was found in this study to be most strongly associated with HIV infection among FSWs, regardless of sex work venue, as has been reported previously in multiple settings. 15,17,[24][25][26][27][28][29][30] The finding is worrisome and highlights the importance of strategies to address this behaviour in HIV prevention activities targeting FSWs.…”

“…The association between age and HIV risk remains inconsistent in the literature. 12,24,[35][36][37][38][39][40][41] For the present study, older age may reflect cumulative HIV risk via long duration of involvement in sex work, more lifetime sex partners, and thus a higher probability of having had an HIV-infected partner. 40 Regarding the relationship between marital status and HIV risk among FSWs, the increased odds of HIV infection among ever-married FSWs as observed from this study possibly resulted from economic vulnerability of those women, who earned significantly less income than single FSWs (data not shown).…”

HIV, Sexually Transmitted Infections, and Sexual Risk Behavior Among Transgenders in Indonesia

“…The overall HIV prevalence among waria was 24.4%, which was higher than the prevalence found among female sex workers (FSW) (7.9%) [5] and men who have sex with men (MSM) (5.2%) [6], in surveys conducted in the same year. This observation is in accordance with a meta-analysis from studies in fourteen countries showing higher HIV prevalence among transgenders compared to FSWs and MSM [7].…”