Objective: To describe risk behaviours for infection with HIV in male sexual partners of female prostitutes. Design: A cross sectional study.
Subjects: self identified male sexual partners of female prostitutes: who reported commercial sexual relationships only, five who reported non-commercial relationships only, and six who reported both commercial and non-commercial relationships. Main outcome measures: Reported risk behaviours for infection with HIV. Conclusions: Men who have sex with female prostitutes cannot be assumed to be at risk of infection with HIV only by this route: homosexual contact may place them at greater risk.
Despite the heterogeneity among male sexual partners of prostitutes, patterns of use of condoms were uniform when they were considered as a reflection of the type of relationship a man had with a female prostitute rather than a consequence of an individual's level of risk.
PIP: A cross sectional study of prostitutes was complemented by interviewing both paying clients and non paying boyfriends or husbands partners of female prostitutes to describe known risk factors and different sexual behaviors for infection with HIV.
Altogether men participated in the study during were clients of female prostitutes and 11 were non paying members. During their most recent contacts, all 6 men had used condoms, and 1 reported a condom failure. Of the 84 men who reported paying for sex in the past year, 55 had vaginal sex and 45 of these always used a condom. Condoms were used in commercial sex primarily to prevent sexually transmitted infections and HIV. Most men always used a condom with a prostitute; most used a condom sometimes with causal, non commercial partners; but few used a condom with regular non commercial partners wife or steady girlfriend.
