The role of relationship intimacy in consistent condom use among female sex workers and their regular paying partners in the Dominican Republic

Abstract

The findings of this study are of great value in planning responsive interventions for female sex workers (FSWs) who have a regular paying partner, also referred to as 'lover' or 'husband', and those who just have paying partners. Advanced Sign out The results suggest that FSWs, their 'lovers' and clients need to have tailor-made, focussed interventions in order to reduce risk taking and, by extension, increase HIV prevention. The former have a higher intimacy level, translating to low condom use and, therefore, a greater risk of HIV or AIDS compared to the latter category, who are more inclined to use condoms with partners. Since the study confirms that female sex-workers are less likely to use condoms with their regular partners, thus putting themselves at risk of getting HIV infection, it shows that the risk can be overpowered by the desire for romantic intimacy without a condom. In order to break this chain of possible HIV transmission, there is a need to target preventative interventions for each of the categories. Many FSW projects are general and fail to capture the unique position of the FSW 'lover', thus failing to break the chain of HIV transmission.