Publications on Male Sex Workers (MSW)

At the request of Asia Catalyst, the Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice worked with two law firms and four local offices of these law firms to conduct a literature review on the legal provisions governing police arrests and compulsory detention of sex workers in Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Sex workers experienced stock-outs of antiretroviral drugs for HIV in more than half of the countries that responded to the consultation, in all types of health care settings. Sex workers experience forced treatment interruptions and involuntary medication changes due to stock-outs, and are forced to travel long distances to access commodities and treatments due to stock-outs in their local areas. This ultimately leads to a lack of trust in health services and systems.

Kauntim mi tu (KM2), an integrated bio-behavioral survey (IBBS) of women and girls who sell and exchange sex (FSW) and men who have sex with men and transgender women (MSM/TG), provides much needed information to support the scale up of essential HIV prevention and treatment services for these populations.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people experience targeted homophobia and transphobia at every level – including legal, political and social. For sex workers who are LGBT, discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity adds to and intensifies the discrimination they experience as sex workers. This Briefing Paper written in collaboration with NSWP documents the stigma and discrimination experienced by LGBT sex workers and highlights differences in their experiences when compared with other members of their respective communities.

The toolkit contains all the information needed to conduct a comprehensive gender analysis. However, in recognition that programs may want to conduct a more streamlined analysis, key steps can be found on pages 7-16. Each step can be streamlined based on time, resources, and information available for a gender analysis.

The Linkages Across the Continuum of HIV Services for Key Populations Affected by HIV (LINKAGES) project envisions a world in which members of key populations (KPs)—gay men and other men who have sex with men (MSM), sex workers (SWs), people who inject drugs (PWID) and transgender people—can exercise their right to live healthy and productive lives.

Kauntim mi tu, an integrated bio-behavioural survey (IBBS) of women and girls who sell and exchange sex (from here on referred to as FSW), and men who have sex with men and transgender women (from here on referred to as MSM/TG), was conducted to support the scale-up of essential HIV prevention and treatment services for these populations.

The Programmatic Mapping Readiness Assessment Tool provides an adaptable step-by-step guide for conducting an mapping readiness assessment (MRA). The MRA focuses on the safety and well-being of KPs as a group and individuals within the group; helps identify the potential risks and benefits of conducting PM before initiating the mapping process; and guides discussions among program staff, steering committee members, and community leaders in creating an action plan to address risk.

This implementation guide will be useful for LINKAGES staff members wherever the program is operating, and for organizations that implement the LINKAGES program at the local level ("on the ground"). Although the guide may help partners working with LINKAGES at the country level, such as Ministries of Health, the guide is designed for LINKAGES country programs.

Objectives of the Framework: introduce the latest science and innovations in HIV service programming for MSM, a source for advocacy with donors and policy makers, provide checklists to see the extent to which HIV service programming for MSM is up-to-date.