Condoms and other contraceptives
Sex Work and Money
US policies on HIV are putting sex workers at risk
Authors:
; Research for Sex Work
Publisher:
Network of Sex Work Projects , 2006
This issue of Research for Sex Work highlights the negative impact which the United States (US) HIV policy is having on sex workers in developing countries. Since 2003 the US government has demanded that all recipients of its HIV prevention funding adopt a policy opposing prostitution. This has restricted funding for organisations working to empower sex workers and has lead to sex workers being denied access to services. In Cambodia, for instance, the policy has been used by some organisations as an excuse to promote stigma and discrimination against sex workers and men who have sex with men (MSM).
The research document also highlights the shortage of condoms in sub-Saharan Africa. This is due to the US policy of promoting abstinence rather than condom use for HIV prevention. In 2004 the US government supplied 315 million fewer condoms for free distribution than it did in 1990. The cutback in US supply, combined with the adoption of abstinence promotion policies by African countries, such as Uganda, and poor planning has resulted in severe shortages across the continent. Organisations which supply free condoms to sex workers have been forced to purchase supplies commercially, and these have become more expensive due to the shortages. The authors argue that sex workers are among those most severely affected by the shortages and call for concerted political action to end the crisis.
