Female Sex Workers have 14 Times the Risk of Having HIV as Other Women

Although researchers and public health organisations in most low and middle income countries have not collected any recent data on the prevalence of HIV in female sex workers, the data that do exist are alarming, the 19th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012) heard on Thursday.

Pooling the data available for 50 countries, female sex workers have a 14-fold higher risk of infection as women of a similar age in the general population.

Rates are especially elevated in some countries, including Bangladesh, Benin, Cambodia, China, Guinea, Guyana, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Nepal and Senegal.