Structural Determinants of Health among Women Who Started Selling Sex as Minors in Burkina Faso

Data were drawn from cross-sectional studies of adult female sex workers (FSW) recruited through respondent-driven sampling in Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso.

Of study participants, 27.8% reported selling sex as a minor, ranging from 24.4% in Bobo-Dioulasso to 31.2% in Ouagadougou. 

• In Ouagadougou, early initiates were more than twice as likely to report someone ever forced them to have sex. 
• In Bobo-Dioulasso, those who started as minors were more likely to report someone ever tortured them. 
• In both cities, early initiates were more likely to not use a condom with a client if offered more money. 
• In Ouagadougou, women who had started selling sex at a young age were half as likely to have been tested for HIV more than once ever. 
• In Bobo-Dioulasso, early initiates were less likely to attend HIV-related talks or meetings.

A substantial proportion of FSW in Burkina Faso started selling sex as minors. The findings show that there are heightened vulnerabilities associated with selling sex below age 18 years, including physical and sexual violence, client-related barriers to condom use, and lower access to HIV-related services.

Via: http://ht.ly/SqvyE  Full PDF Article:  http://ow.ly/d/3Kg6 

By: Grosso AL1, Ketende S, Dam K, Papworth E, Ouedraogo HG, Ky-Zerbo O, Baral S.

• 1*Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD; †Institut de Recherche en Sciences en Sciences de la Santé (IRSS), Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; and ‡Programme d'Appui au Monde Associatif et Communautaire (PAMAC), Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.