Violence as a barrier for HIV prevention among Female Sex Workers (FSWs) in Argentina.

PANDO MA; COLOCCINI RS; REYNAGA E; KOCHEL TJ; MONTANO S; AVILA MM

Roma

Conferencia; 6th IAS Conference on Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention (IAS 2011); 2011

Background: Violence faced by FSWs has increasingly been reported as an important determinant of risk for HIV infection. Our aim was to explore violence experienced by FSWs in Argentina and its influence on condom use and HIV prevalence. Methods: A cross sectional study was performed among FSW in Argentina (2006-2009). FSWs older than 18 years-old, who signed an informed consent, were interviewed and tested for HIV. Violence was measured by four variables: sexual abuse, perception of rejection, experience of being beaten, and having been arrested by police. A score was done adding one point for each type of violence reported (0-4). Results: A total of 1255 FSWs were included. Sexual abuse was reported by 24.1%, with 7.3% being abused at their first sexual experience. A total of 34.7% reported having been rejected, 21.9% having been beaten and 45.4% having been arrested because of their activity. Seventy percent had undergone at least one episode of violence. Regular use of condom with clients was reported by 88.6% of the FSWs, dropping to 17.6% regarding non-commercial partners. Bivariate and multivariate analyses revealed that use of condoms, with clients and non-commercial partners was highly irregular among FSWs who had experienced violence. There was a significant association between the cases of violence experienced and the frequency of irregular use of condoms. A significance association of increased HIV frequency of infection and increasing number of episodes of violence was also detected. (0.4 vs. 5.4, for 0 and 4 episodes of violence, respectively). Conclusions: Our results demonstrate, for the first time in Argentina, an alarming prevalence of violent situations among women involved in sex work which appears to be influencing their care in self protection as shown by less condom use and higher HIV prevalence.