HIV/AIDS Behavioral Medicine: Nine to 10% of men worldwide exchanged sex for money within 12-month period

AIDSWEEKLY Plus; Monday, August 14, 2006
Staff Medical Writers

In a recently published report, investigators in Belgium conducted a study to "estimate the proportion of the male population that reports having paid for sex in different regions.

"Clients of sex workers were identified from representative samples of men asked in face-to-face interviews whether they had had sex in exchange for money or whether they had paid for sex, in the last 12 months. A total of 78 national household surveys and nine city based surveys were selected for inclusion."

"Where such surveys were not available, results of behavioral surveillance surveys and of research studies were also used. Using national estimates, a median percentage of men who reported paying for sex was calculated for each region," researchers said.

"The median percentage of men who exchanged sex for money in the last 12 months in all regions was around 9-10%, with estimates from 13 to 15% in Central African region, 10 to 11% in Eastern and southern Africa, and 5-7% in Asia and Latin America.

"Estimates for men who paid sex were much lower at around 2-3% with ranges from 7% in the South African region to 1% in Asia and West Africa," M. Carael and colleagues as the Free University of Brussels reported.

"Although errors of measurement and critical issues of definitions and interpretation exist," wrote investigators, "this compilation represents a first attempt to obtain reasonably coherent estimates of the proportion of men who were clients of sex workers at regional level. Large discrepancies between regions were found."

The authors concluded, "Further improvements in national estimates will be critical to monitor coverage of HIV prevention programs for sex workers and clients, and to improve estimates of national HIV infection prevalence levels in low and concentrated HIV epidemics."

Carael and colleagues published their study in Sexually Transmitted Infections (Clients of sex workers in different regions of the world: hard to count. Sex Transm Infect. 2006 Jun;82 Suppl 3:iii26-33).

For more information, contact M. Carael, Free University of Brussels, 808 Route Lennik, Brussels, Belgium.

Publisher contact information for the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections is: B M J Publishing Group, British Med Association House, Tavistock Square, London WC1H 9JR, England.

Keywords: Brussels, Belgium, HIV/AIDS, Sex for Money, Sex Workers, HIV Risk Behavior, World-Wide Estimate.

This article was prepared by AIDS Weekly editors from staff and other reports.

Reference

Carael M, Slaymaker E, Lyerla R, et al., “Clients of sex workers in different regions of the world: hard to count”, Sex Transm Infect. 2006 Jun;82 Suppl 3:iii26-33.

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