Publications on Female Sex Workers (FSW)

Until recently, Pakistan was considered as a ‘low HIV prevalence, high risk country’ in relation to HIV. The country is now classified as having a concentrated epidemic, with an HIV prevalence of more than 5% among injecting drug users.

Although the prevalence of HIV in the general population is low (0.2%) and is mainly concentrated among injecting drug users (IDUs) in Jakarta, West Java and Bali, the epidemic has now spread to other key populations at higher risk such as non‐injecting partners of IDUs, sex workers and their clients.

Beginning in the late 1980s, the HIV epidemic increased rapidly in Thailand, particularly in the upper Northern region. In 1990‐91, soon after it was observed that the HIV epidemic was spreading among injecting drug users and sex workers, the government acted decisively, launching a nationwide campaign to reduce HIV transmission.

Cambodia is internationally recognized for having successfully reduced its HIV prevalence among the general population from about 3% in 1997 to 0.7% in 2009. Sex work played a significant role in the spread of the HIV epidemic during the nineties.

Myanmar has a population of 50 million people. The estimated nation‐wide population of sex workers in 2007 was between 40,000 and 80,000 and the population of their clients between 840,000 and 1,400,000

This study examines the cost variation of 107 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) implementing targeted interventions, over the start up and first 2 years of intervention.

This quantitative Special Behavioural Survey (SBS) study was conducted with female sex workers (FSWs) in urban Bellary district from December 2005 to July 2006.

CRiSP was done for the first time in 2006, revealing an HIV prevalence of 0.19% in female sex workers (FSW). In 2009, Department of Health commissioned Chinese University of Hong Kong to repeat the CRiSP survey.

This toolkit aims to demonstrate how a small number of recommended indicators can provide critical information to guide interventions.

This was the first round of BSS for the Maharashtra State and would serve as the baseline.