A common stereotype amongst society in regards to sex workers is that sex workers are infecters of the HIV virus, as they have sex with various men. But this stereotype is just that, a stereo type, something unfounded as there is absolutely no evidence in Canada to show that transmission of HIV from sex workers to their clients regularly takes place. In fact, the majority of research studies done on HIV and sex work in Canada show that sex workers are "safe sex professionals"that tend to be better informed than the general population about modes of HIV transmission and ways to prevent the transmission of HIV, this is most likely a result of extensive HIV/AIDS awareness and outreach in the sex worker community.
A 2001 study done by the University of Victoria, Dispelling Myths and Understanding Realities Working Conditions, Health Status and Exiting Experiences of Sex Workers, that tested over 201 current and former sex workers from 13 cities across Canada found that only 3.5% of were HIV positive.
The Nevada State Health Department in the United States where prostitution is legal, tests the sex workers who worked there monthly and as of 1993 (the last report I could find), out of over 20,000 people tested not one test came out positive for the HIV virus.
Even street sex workers who are considered the highest at risk for HIV, in most transactions the sex worker engages in oral sex or masturbation of the client, both of which are activities with a much lower risk of HIV transmission. When a sex worker does engage in intercourse it is more often then not the clients idea to not use a condom, some clients will assault a sex worker for insisting on condom use or slip the condom off without the sex worker knowing, rarely it is the sex workers decision not to use a condom. It should also be mention that police have been known to confiscate condoms from sex workers.
In a 2003 study known as I-Track: Enhanced surveillance of risk behaviors among injecting drug users in Canada, found that 92% of Injection drug users who also worked as sex workers reparably used condoms all the time with clients but almost a third never used condoms with their casual partners and that condom use was infrequent amongst sex workers and their regular partners.
Various reasons were cited: they desired "emotional closeness" with their private partners; they thought their partners were "clean"; they did not want their partner to feel like a "trick." Meaning that many sex workers at risk for HIV face their greatest risk in their personal lives due to a reluctance to insist on condom use outside of work as well as unsafe drug use.Unsafe drug use is perhaps the greatest risk factor of HIV transmission for street sex workers.
In 1987 the US the Center for Disease Control conducted a study on 1,396 street sex workers from 6 US cities and found that 12% had tested positive for HIV I antibodies. Needle use was the main mode of transmission for most of the sex workers involved in the study.
At the 1996 International Conference on AIDS in Vancouver BC, it was announced that observers have found a link between HIV transmission and heavy crack smoking. Crack users that do not use condoms while providing oral sex are at risk of HIV infection due to poor oral hygiene and/or cuts in the mouth caused from crack pipes.
In conclusion sex workers at a no more risk of transmitting HIV as the rest of the population, research in North America show that the rates of HIV rates amongst sex workers are not significantly different then the HIV rates in the rest of the population. That being said, anyone who engages in unsafe sex with casual partners or unsafe drug use are at risk of catching or infecting HIV. With this in mind it is always important to practice safer sex or safe drug use all the time.
HIV/AID's
The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is the virus that causes Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). HIV attacks the immune system, resulting in a chronic, progressive illness and leaving infected people vulnerable to opportunistic infections and cancers. The median time from infection to AIDS diagnosis now exceeds 10 years. AIDS is fatal. There is no cure.
HIV is transmitted through:
- unprotected sexual intercourse (vaginal, anal, oral)
- shared needles or equipment for injecting drugs
- unsterilized needles for tattooing, skin piercing or acupuncture
- pregnancy, delivery and breast feeding (from an HIV-infected mother to her infant)
- occupational exposure in health care settings
For more information on Sex Work and HIVAIDS information please go to the
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