Men who buy sex: a neglected group for AIDS messages
Charnock, D.
Aids Watch 1990(11): 6-7
1990
PMID: 12342912 Document Number: 371707
Although sex workers are often willing to utilize healthy sex practices, male clients should be made more aware of AIDS prevention and safe sex practices. Men have many misconceptions about safe sex methods. These misconceptions include believing that condoms reduce sexual pleasure; post-intercourse washing prevents infection; HIV transmission is not possible through anal or oral intercourse; and safe sex is associated with expensive sex. To improve their knowledge about safe sexual practices and to enhance their willingness to employ safe sex measures, sex education should be directed toward males who buy sex. To change the attitudes of male clients, programs should determine if these clients are local men or visitors. Information could then be supplied through local media which would reach male residents or through hotels or customs which are accessible to male visitors. Since sex workers often meet their clients in bars or hotels, AIDS information and condoms could be distributed from these locations. To change sex behaviors, programs must investigate current sexual practices to identify practices that are at less risk for AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases. Preventive information could also be supplied by the sex workers. Furthermore, low-cost condoms should be available to male clients and sex workers.