Compensated sex: a practice at the heart of young Mexican women's vulnerabilities (STI/HIV/AIDS)
Théodore, F.Lise.; Gutiérrez, J.Pablo.; Torres, P.; Luna, G.
Salud Publica de Mexico 46(2): 104-112
2004
ISSN/ISBN: 0036-3634 PMID: 15176572 Document Number: 209387
A study was conducted to identify the risks for Mexican young women who engage in sexual relations in exchange for social or economic benefits, also known as compensated sex (CS), with the objective of exploring its possible public health implications. This is a qualitative study conducted in youths 15-25 years of age in Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico, between September 2001 and December 2002. The theoretical framework included sociology of knowledge, post-structuralism, and gender studies. Research methods consisted of 6 focal groups and 8 interviews with young subjects identified or self-declared as having practiced CS. To conceal their CS practices, young girls disguise it as "courtship" and subject themselves to rules and behaviours that restrain them in terms of condom use and expose them to sexually transmitted diseases (STD). Although CS itself may not necessarily constitute a risky practice, the courtship context in which young women tend to develop these practices exposes them to a greater risk of STDs.