HIV to spread faster in city if proper containment steps not taken: report

Karachi

With an estimated population of 26,000 female sex workers operating in the city and a regular clientele of 0.5 million, Karachi is prone to the spread of the HIV virus in the next few years, says a study conducted by the Sindh Aids Control Programme (SACP).

“The ratio of HIV positive cases is low among sex workers (0.01%), but this could snowball in a few years if proper containment measures are not taken,” says Dr Farhat Wali of Gender and Reproduction Health Forum, who is leading a programme for prevention and rehabilitation of sex workers in the city.

She says the main source of the transmission of the HIV virus in the province is still intravenous drug users, but the business structure of sex workers operating in the city is also very dangerous. “If this venue is not covered, the transmission of HIV through sexual activity could be a serious threat in the future.”

According to the study, 46 percent of female sex workers in the city live with their families and almost half of them are married. “They go out of

their homes feigning to work in offices, and in most cases nobody in the family is aware of their actual profession.”

These sex workers have husbands and children, and see up to 7-8 clients every day. “So if there is an outbreak, it will be no doubt a major one,” says Dr Wali.

The comprehensive survey done by SCAP discloses a number of startling facts about the nature and networks of sex workers operating in the city.

It says a female sex worker earns from Rs7,000 to Rs60,000 a month, depending on her age and looks. Thirty percent of men engage in “non-marital sex” in their lifetime, 41 percent of them with femal sex workers.

But the most terrifying of the facts is that 22 percent of intravenous drug users pay for sex with female sex workers and less than 18 percent use condoms

According to the survey, 46 percent of sex workers in the city are married, nine percent separated, three percent widowed, 30 percent unmarried and 12 percent divorced. Eight million sex acts are sold annually in the city.

The Sindh Aids Control Programme is a running a prevention rehabilitation programme for sex workers in the red light areas of the city, including Napier Road, by educating them about various sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including the deadly HIV. They distribute free condoms to female sex workers, do regular medical check-ups and rehabilitate them by providing trainings in beautician and sewing courses to equip them with skill so they can switch their professions.

Posted in: Karachi News