Can sex workers regulate police? Learning from an HIV prevention project for sex workers in southern India

Biradavolu, Monica; Burris, Scott; George, Anne; Jena, Asima; Blankenship, Kim M.

doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2009.01.040

Cited by 137 publications

(136 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…16 Similarly, research among drug users and other at-risk groups has identified pervasive lack of clarity about the law. [27][28][29][30] Our findings underscore the critical role of policy evaluation to evidence-based tailoring of public health laws in order to guarantee their positive impact.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 69%

Police Officers’ and Paramedics’ Experiences with Overdose and Their Knowledge and Opinions of Washington State’s Drug Overdose–Naloxone–Good Samaritan Law

et al. 2013

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Opioid overdoses are an important public health concern. Concerns about police involvement at overdose events may decrease calls to 911 for emergency medical care thereby increasing the chances than an overdose becomes fatal. To address this concern, Washington State passed a law that provides immunity from drug possession charges and facilitates the availability of take-home-naloxone (the opioid overdose antidote) to bystanders in 2010. To examine the knowledge and opinions regarding opioid overdoses and this new law, police (n=251) and paramedics (n=28) in Seattle, WA were surveyed. The majority of police (64 %) and paramedics (89 %) had been at an opioid overdose in the prior year. Few officers (16 %) or paramedics (7 %) were aware of the new law. While arrests at overdose scenes were rare, drugs or paraphernalia were confiscated at 25 % of the most recent overdoses police responded to. Three quarters of officers felt it was important they were at the scene of an overdose to protect medical personnel, and a minority, 34 %, indicated it was important they were present for the purpose of enforcing laws. Police opinions about the immunity and naloxone provisions of the law were split, and we present a summary of the reasons for their opinions. The results of this survey were utilized in public health efforts by the police department which developed a roll call training video shown to all patrol officers. Knowledge of the law was low, and opinions of it were mixed; however, police were concerned about the issue of opioid overdose and willing to implement agency-wide training.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 69%

Police Officers’ and Paramedics’ Experiences with Overdose and Their Knowledge and Opinions of Washington State’s Drug Overdose–Naloxone–Good Samaritan Law

et al. 2013

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“…[7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]23,26,46,48,49 Previous studies along Mexico's North Border have contributed to this international consensus by identifying a panoply of associations between criminal justice experiences and behavioral risk factors, including syringe sharing. 29,50,51 We have also observed independent associations between arrest and HIV status.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As seen in Table 1, median age was 33 (interquartile range [IQR], 27-40); 38 % were married and 42 % had children dependents. Most (80 %) engaged in street-based sex work, with a median of 10 h spent on the street daily (IQR, [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. Almost half of the respondents (48 %) reported having syringes confiscated in the last 6 months.…”

Section: Sample Characteristicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[4][5][6] A growing body of research explores the synergistic impact of health and human rights challenges facing vulnerable groups, including FSW-IDUs. [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17] From an epidemiological perspective, FSW-IDUs command special focus because they can acquire communicable infections through both the sexual and injection routes, making them critical to community-level HIV and STI prevention. [18][19][20] From a human rights perspective, this population is doubly marginalized by policies criminalizing drug use and prostitution.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Syringe Confiscation as an HIV Risk Factor: The Public Health Implications of Arbitrary Policing in Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico

Lozada²,

et al. 2012

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Female sex workers who inject drugs (FSW-IDUs) face elevated risk for HIV/ STIs and constitute a key population for public health prevention. Through direct and indirect pathways including human rights violations, policing practices like syringe confiscation can compound FSW-IDU health risk and facilitate the spread of disease. We studied correlates of experiencing syringe confiscation among FSW-IDUs in northern Mexico, where formal policy allows for syringes to be available over the counter without a prescription, but police practices are often at odds with the law. FSWIDUs reporting recent syringe sharing and unprotected sex with clients in Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez were administered surveys and HIV/STI testing. Logistic regression was used to identify correlates of syringe confiscation. Among 624 respondent FSW-IDUs, prevalence of syringe confiscation in the last 6 months was 48 %. The following factors were positively associated with syringe confiscation: testing positive for HIV (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]=2.54, 95 % confidence interval [CI]=1.11-5.80), reporting sexual abuse by police (aOR=12.76, 95 % CI=6.58-24.72), engaging in groin injection (aOR=1.84, 95 % CI=1.15-2.93), injecting in public (aOR=1.64; 95 % CI=1.14-2.36), and obtaining syringes from pharmacies (aOR=1.54; 95 % CI=1.06-2.23). Higher education level was negatively associated with syringe confiscation (aOR= 0.92, 95 % CI=0.87-0.98) as was frequent injection with clients within the last month (aOR=0.64,). This analysis adds to the body of evidence linking unauthorized law enforcement actions targeting high-risk groups with HIV and other adverse health outcomes. Using a public health lens to conceptualize abuse as a structural risk factor, we advocate for multi-prong prevention, systematic monitoring, and evidence-based intervention response to deleterious police practices.

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“…These take the form of meetings between sex workers and police, policy-makers or the media (Avahan, 2008;NACO, 2007;Biradavolu, Burris, George, Jena, & Blankenship, 2009;Dandona et al, 2005). Such meetings are intended to provide information to the stakeholders, to clear up misunderstandings, reduce stigma, and provide an opportunity to make a request for help.…”

Section: Building Bridging Social Capitalmentioning

confidence: 99%

Persuading, protesting and exchanging favours: strategies used by Indian sex workers to win local support for their HIV prevention programmes

Cornish

Shukla

Banerji³

2010

AIDS Care

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Can sex workers regulate police? Learning from an HIV prevention project for sex workers in southern India

Cited by 137 publications

References 46 publications

Police Officers’ and Paramedics’ Experiences with Overdose and Their Knowledge and Opinions of Washington State’s Drug Overdose–Naloxone–Good Samaritan Law

Police Officers’ and Paramedics’ Experiences with Overdose and Their Knowledge and Opinions of Washington State’s Drug Overdose–Naloxone–Good Samaritan Law

Syringe Confiscation as an HIV Risk Factor: The Public Health Implications of Arbitrary Policing in Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico

Persuading, protesting and exchanging favours: strategies used by Indian sex workers to win local support for their HIV prevention programmes

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