Anal Sex, Vaginal Sex and HIV Risk Among Female Sex Workers in Papua New Guinea

Abstract

Female sex workers (FSW) are considered one of the key affected populations in Papua New Guinea at risk of acquiring HIV. An integrated bio-behavioral survey of sex workers in Port Moresby was conducted to determine the nature and extent of this risk. About half (51.1 %) of the 411 FSW who reported having any sexual intercourse with clients had engaged in both anal and vaginal intercourse with clients in the last 6 months. In spite of having poorer HIV knowledge (OR95 % CI = 0.14-0.34), FSW who had anal intercourse with clients were significantly more likely to have used a condom at the last vaginal intercourse with a client (OR95 % CI = 1.04-2.87). Similarly, FSW who had anal intercourse with regular and casual partners were significantly more likely to have used a condom at the last vaginal intercourse. Those who engaged in both anal and vaginal intercourse with clients had similar condom use for both vaginal and anal intercourse, with the majority (78.1 %) using a condom at the last occasion for both vaginal and anal intercourse. These FSW may have different risk and protective factors that affect their use of condom during sexual intercourse. Further research is needed to investigate this difference between those who practice anal intercourse and those who do not in order to provide evidence for better programming.

Prevalence and correlates of anal intercourse among female sex workers in eSwatini

“…This neglect may contribute to limited awareness of transmission risk during condomless AI [10], and subsequently to the tendency towards lower rates of condom use during AI compared to vaginal intercourse (VI) [11][12][13]. AI practice among FSW appears to be associated with other sexual behaviours associated with higher risk of HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STI), including having a greater number of clients [10,[14][15][16], practice of 'dry' sex [17,18], condomless sex [18,19] and difficulty negotiating condom use [14]. AI practice is often more common among FSW who suffer physical [17,[19][20][21][22] or sexual violence [17,18].…”

Anal sexual experience and HIV risk awareness among female sex workers in Dire Dawa, eastern Ethiopia

“…Inconsistent condom use, anal sexual experience and multiple sexual partner attributed for FSWs’ vulnerability to HIV and their infectiousness [ 5 ]. Anal sex became common sexual experience among commercial sex workers, 13.1% of FSWs in Ethiopia reported as ever-practiced anal sex [ 6 – 8 ].…”

Factors Influencing Antiretroviral Adherence and Virological Outcomes in People Living with HIV in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea

“…However, others argue that the epidemiological evidence suggests a mixed epidemic, rather than concentrated or generalised epidemic. [ 8 , 9 ]…”