Key Findings
Profile of respondents
Female sex workers: The mean age of the female sex workers was 32.6 years. A total of 48% of them were reported to be married once but were divorced/separated/widowed or not living with their husbands at the time of the survey. Only 15% of the sex workers said that they were illiterate.
Clients of female sex workers: The mean age of the clients of female sex workers was 31.3 years. Only 2% respondents of this group were illiterate. A high proportion (81%) of them said that they were married and were living with their wives. Their occupational profile included skilled and unskilled categories such as auto-rickshaw or taxi drivers (21%), unskilled labourers (29%) and self-employed or in businesses (18%).
Other male sub-population groups: The mean age of the auto rickshaw drivers was 31.4 years. All of them were literate and 98% were reported to be married and living with their wives. The mean age of the plantation workers was 34.4 years. Only 2% of them were illiterate and 97% said that they were married and were living with their wives. The mean age of the university students living in hostels was 20.8 years.
Measurement of indicators
Female sex workers and condom use: Ninety-nine percent female sex workers reported having one-time clients and 45% said that they also had regular clients. Eighty nine percent of the sex workers who had reported having one-time clients said that such clients had used a condom during the last sexual intercourse with them. The corresponding figure for regular clients was 67%.
Male sub-population groups and non-regular partners: Percentage of respondents who reported having sexual intercourse with any non-regular partner (including commercial partners, non-regular, non-commercial partners and male partners) was 13.8% among auto rickshaw drivers, 9.3% among the university students and 4.8% among the plantation workers. Six percent auto rickshaw drivers, 2% plantation workers and 3% university students had also reported having paid sex or sexual intercourse with a FSW.
Condom use by male sub-population groups: Among the respondents who said that they had sex with a female sex worker, 91% auto rickshaw drivers, 58% plantation workers and 66% students said that they had used condom during their last sexual intercourse with a female sex worker. Eighty percent of the clients of female sex workers had reported condom use during last sexual intercourse with such a partner.
Other findings
University students: A total of 15.6% students reported ever having sexual intercourse. The median age at first sexual intercourse for the students was 17 years. A total of 9.5% of the students said that they had sexual intercourse in the last twelve months. While 3.2% of the students stated that they had sexual intercourse with one partner, 6.3% reported having sexual intercourse with more than one partner during the preceding 12 months. Only 3.8% of the students reported having more than 4 partners. The median number of sex partners reported by the students was 3.
Other male sub-population groups: The median age at first sexual intercourse for male clients of female sex workers was 21 years, for male plantation workers it was 23 years, for male auto rickshaw drivers it was 24 years and for the female sex worker, it was 18 years.
Introduction
HIV/AIDS in Kerala
The first HIV positive person in Kerala was identified in 1987. Since then the epidemic in the State has been growing gradually. Infections were initially reported to have been acquired from outside the state. Subsequently, however, more infections were said to have been acquired within the state. The sentinel surveys had shown an HIV prevalence of 3.5% among STI clinic attendees and 0.2% among pregnant women in Kerala during 1999.
Prevention activities by the State AIDS Control Society
The State AIDS Cell was established towards the end of 1993 to prevent and control the spread of HIV infection in the state. The initial activities included ensuring blood safety in the state, training public sector health care providers in the syndromic management of sexually transmitted infections, strengthening public STI clinics and provision of counselling services in these clinics. In order to create general awareness about HIV/AIDS, campaigns were conducted using TV, radio, print media and folk art forms. Students in schools and colleges and young school dropouts were being reached through a variety of programmes. The thrust of the programme however subsequently shifted from awareness creation to changing behaviour through interventions in populations at high-risk of contracting and spreading HIV/AIDS in the general community.
