HIV Risk Behaviors Among Female Sex Workers
Summary
Female sex workers (FSWs) continue to bear a disproportionate burden of HIV infection worldwide. Key risk factors include high client turnover, inconsistent condom use with both commercial and non-commercial partners, and intersecting vulnerabilities such as substance use, stigma and legal marginalisation. Structural barriers—criminalisation of sex work, limited access to health services and socio-economic deprivation—further undermine prevention efforts. Recent data reveal that non-injection drug use is highly prevalent among street-based FSWs, and that injection practices, though less common, carry a pronounced transmission risk. Uptake of HIV testing remains suboptimal, shaped by unstable housing, income disparities and awareness of testing sites. Integrated approaches combining behavioural counselling, provision of condoms and clean injecting equipment, alongside community-led outreach and destigmatisation initiatives, have shown promise in reducing incidence and enhancing service engagement.
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HIV Risk Behaviors Among Female Sex Workers publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in hiv risk behaviors among female sex workers across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Female sex worker (FSW): An adult woman who exchanges sexual services for money, goods or favours.
Condomless sex: Sexual intercourse without a barrier method, significantly elevating the risk of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.
Harm reduction: A set of public health strategies designed to minimise the negative health, social and legal impacts associated with high-risk behaviours, such as syringe-exchange programmes and supervised consumption sites.
Injection drug use: The practice of administering psychoactive substances directly into the bloodstream using needles or syringes, a major driver of HIV transmission when equipment is shared.
References
- What may encourage or deter health services utilization by people living with or at the risk of HIV/AIDS in special health centers? Qualitative evidence from a stigmatized community. BMC Public Health (2024).
- Lifetime and past-month substance use and injection among street-based female sex workers in Iran. Harm Reduction Journal (2021).
- HIV testing and its associated factors among street-based female sex workers in Iran: results of a national rapid assessment and response survey. Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy (2021).
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