Sex Workers' Noncommercial Male Partners Who Inject Drugs Report Higher-Risk Sexual Behaviors

摘要

Female sex workers are less likely to use condoms with noncommercial male partners than clients. We compare noncommercial male partners who do and do not inject drags in Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Sexual risk behaviors were more prevalent among injectors, who could promote HIV/sexually transmitted infection transmission in this region. Unprotected sex and risky drug use within commercial sexual encounters account for a substantial proportion of poor sexual health outcomes among female sex workers (FSWs). Although targeted interventions have successfully improved FSWs' condom use with male clients, 25% to 95% of FSWs have steady, noncommercial male partners (eg, boyfriends and spouses) with whom they are 2 to 5 times more likely to have unprotected sex compared with clients. Limited research has identified high-risk behaviors among FSWs' noncommercial male partners, including intravenous, drug use and unprotected sex with concurrent sexual partners. Studies among injection drug users (IDUs) in Vietnam, England, and the United States suggest that relationship intimacy may reinforce sexual and drug-related HIV/sexually transmitted infection (STI) risks. However, studies have not consistently assessed the risk profiles of FSWs' noncommercial partners in settings where drug abuse is prevalent.