Sex work in Tallinn, Estonia: the sociospatial penetration of sex work into society

Abstract

Future research and programmatic service delivery or outreach efforts should respond to the changing profile of sex work in Tallinn and its implications for STD/HIV epidemiology.

Evaluating Recruitment among Female Sex Workers and Injecting Drug Users at Risk for HIV Using Respondent-driven Sampling in Estonia

“…Although the proportion of IDUs with higher education was even lower, selective sampling (low homophily) within this IDU subset may be explained by the substantially larger size of the target population in the region (estimated 2,000 FSWs and 10,000 IDUs in Tallinn area). 11,12 These studies were limited in that the full network-size question was not asked (the definition of the population, age range, and geographical regions were missing). The network size-question sets up the probability of inclusion into the sample, and omission of eligibility criterion results in the possible overestimation of participants' network sizes.…”

“…Cellular phone and internet technology enables sex work to be highly dispersed and spatially mobile. 12 This paper examines the implementation of RDS methodology in two separate subpopulations: FSWs and IDUs. We evaluate and compare recruitment efficiency and sampling challenges, as well as provide findings and recommendations from both studies.…”

A study on HIV and hepatitis C virus among commercial sex workers in Tallinn

“…Sex work in its current forms and scale is a new phenomenon for post-Soviet societies. In Estonia, Tallinn is the capital city and the biggest harbour and is the centre of sex work in the country 7. This paper estimates the prevalence of HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) among female sex workers (FSW) in Tallinn, Estonia.…”

A rapid situation assessment of the market for surrogate and illegal alcohols in Tallinn, Estonia

“…It has been used in the fi elds as diverse as nutrition (WHO, 1995), drug use (Rhodes et al 1999;McDonald 2005;Stimson et al 2006) and HIV/AIDS ( Weir et al 2002;Stimson et al 2006). There is some experience in its use in Estonia, where it was used to describe the spatial patterning of sex work in Tallinn (Aral et al 2006). The aim of this study was to provide detailed information about the market for surrogate and illegal alcohols and, in particular, to describe the spatial patterning of surrogate sale and consumption venues in Tallinn, Estonia.…”