Correlates of Sex Trading among Drug-Involved Women in Committed Intimate Relationships: A Risk Profile

Despite a slight decline in new human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections in New York, marked increases and concentrated epidemics continue among subsets of the population, including women engaged in sex trading. We examined the prevalence and correlates of sex trading among 346 low-income, HIV-negative women in HIV-concordant intimate relationships.

Of the 346 women in the study, 28% reported sex trading during the prior 90 days. Multivariate analyses showed increased relative risk of sex trading by lifetime experience of severe intimate partner violence (IPV), drug, and alcohol use, and marginal significance for mental health hospitalization, partner drug dependency, and homelessness.

These findings suggest an urgent need for HIV prevention and intervention efforts targeted toward women in intimate relationships who trade sex for money or drugs, with an emphasis on IPV, mental health, history of incarceration, and substance abuse.

Via: http://ht.ly/S9KFz 

By: Jiwatram-Negrón T1, El-Bassel N2.

• 1Social Intervention Group (SIG), School of Social Work, Columbia University, New York City, New York
• 2Social Intervention Group (SIG), School of Social Work, Columbia University, New York City, New York.