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Male sex workers face rising health risks |
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By: Alisha Coelho |
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Date:
2008-10-12 |
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Place: Mumbai |
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WHILE a sex worker is invariably thought to be a female, activists and doctors have finally identified health issues amongst a growing number of male sex workers (MSW) in the city.
"We have 2,200 registered sex workers and conduct HIV tests. The worst affected are those who practice anal sex on highways and stay away for fear of being arrested," says Ashok Row Kavi, chairperson of Humsafar, a gay advocacy group.
The number of sex workers in Mumbai is burgeoning. As of 2007, Samabhavana, an NGO, has 9,584 workers registered with them. But the real number is perhaps four times more, say officials.
Another problem is the lack of HIV centres for male workers. Dr Kavita Anand, of Population Services international, has been working in Kamathipura with female workers for three years. "We do interact and help some MSW groups, but our focus is primarily on women," says Anand.
A study co-authored by Dr Hemangi Jerajani of Sion Hospital, Dr Santosh Shinde, Dr Maninder Setia of McGill University, Canada and Ashok Row Kavi and V Anand from Humsafar revealed that of 75 workers interviewed, a third were HIV positive.
The highest risk groups were male-to-female transgenders, sex workers under 26, workers who earned less than Rs 2,000 per month, those who reported sex work as their primary source of income and those working the trade for more than a year.
Only a third said they always used a condom and 53 per cent used it sometimes. "Transgenders are the most affected as they bore the double stigma of sexuality and work. If the client doesn't want to use a condom, they seldom disagree," says Dr Shinde, whose paper will now be presented at International Conference on Fundamental and Translational Research on HIV/AIDS organised by the ICMR.
Hotspots
Areas where male sex workers operate in the city:
>Gateway of India
>Juhu, Girgaum and other beache
>Railway stations
>Restaurants and pubs across the city |
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