Abstract from the Int Conf AIDS. 2004 Jul 11-16; 15: abstract no. WePeC6224.
Issues: Female sex workers (FSWs) are considered to be one of the high-risk groups driving the epidemic of HIV/AIDS because of exposure to multiple partners and inconsistent use of condoms. Poverty has also been fingered as a twin problem militating against the effective prevention and impact mitigation of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria among this group. This study aimed at assessing the knowledge, attitude and practice of sex workers in relation to HIV/AIDS and poverty.
Unlike the situation a few decades ago, commercial sex in Addis Ababa has increasingly become an occupation of women born and brought up in the city.
A new study, “Poverty and the Social Context of Sex Work in Addis Ababa”, by Bethelehem Tekola*, indicates that more than 50% of the women who are engaged in commercial sex are born and grew up in the city.
Making Sex Work Safe was developed by sex workers from the early International Network of Sex Work Projects (NSWP). It was written by Paulo Longo and Cheryl Overs. It provides global perspectives on information about sex workers, analysis of law and policy and guidance about how to ensure that programmes on sex work are rights based and grounded in communities.
We formed our partnership in 2008. The idea for the Paulo Longo Research Initiative (PLRI) arose among activists, policy advocates and academics who were frustrated by the quality of information on sex work available. Although there are many excellent books, essays and studies about sex work – including several by sex workers – a great deal of scholarship on sex work is misguided and stigmatizing. Sex workers frequently complain that much of what is written about them reflects prejudices and myths rather than the reality of their lives.
