Sex Work: Using Peer Education to Prevent Infection and Violence

The session discussed issues around a provision of peer education as a capacity building tool to prevent infection, violence and enhance sex workers to gain control when dealing with their clients. An overview of program implementation was given that focused on peer education that had been carried out in Cambodia, Nepal and Mongolia. This reflected the necessity to shape a comprehensive strategic plan to prevent infection of sex workers. Negotiation and life skills are seen as essential elements to the empowerment of sex workers. Savita Achaya reflected that Nepal has moved from a statistically low HIV/AIDS prevalence country to a concentrated epidemic country. Sex workers have become more vulnerable to infection and violence from their clients. She also pointed that a development of interpersonal communication, in terms of an adoption of negotiation and life skills is necessary to help lessen risk behaviour in vulnerable groups of sex workers. Sopha Nith from FHI/IMPACT added evidence about the sex worker population in Cambodia. It is comprised of 81 percent Khmer and 18 percent Vietnamese sex workers. Nith spoke of two types of sex work - direct and indirect. Sex workers in Cambodia are faced with intimidation and violence, gang rape and harassment from police officials for free sex. She also pointed out that 1,300 sex workers have become members of the Women's Networks Unit. The program is also expanded to cover larger area of vulnerable groups such as police officials, military and youth.

The National AIDS Foundation of Mongolia reported that the HIV/AIDS programs among sex workers in Darkhan, Mongolia a lacked confidentiality and judgement of attitude. Sex workers are commonly then be harassed by the police officials and often charged if they are found to be carrying condoms as they indicated that they are sex workers. Khartini Slamah - a Malaysian sex worker representative from APNSW, remarked that it is time to genuinely engage sex workers at every level of decision making in order to addresses the issues regarding violence, infection and stigma. Provision of capacity building, the development of support mechanisms, public speaking and communication for sex workers should be the central emphasis of any project proposals.