Aids Weekly Plus The World Health Organization (WHO), the United
Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), UNAIDS, and the Global Network
of Sex Work Projects have developed a set of technical
recommendations for effective programs to prevent and treat
HIV/AIDS and other STDs among sex workers. The complete report,
“Prevention and Treatment of HIV and Other Sexually Transmitted
Infections for Sex Workers in Low- and Middle-income Countries,”
was published by the WHO Department of HIV/AIDS in December 2012
at URL:
http://www.who.int/hiv/pub/guidelines/sex_worker/en/index.html.
The guidelines advise that nations should decriminalize sex work
and increase the access of sex workers to health services.
Regular, voluntary screening and treatment for sex workers and
empowerment regarding condom negotiation were other key elements
of the guidelines. Factors that increase the risk of HIV and
other STDs for sex workers include a larger number of sexual
partners and social marginalization. Because their work is
against the law,