Heterogeneity in the expression of female sexual commerce in Mexico City

Abstract

To evaluate the relationships among the socio-economic, demographic, and sexual behavior characteristics of commercial sexual workers (CSW) and their work site. A sampling frame was constructed in the Delegación Cuauhtémoc, México City, which included massage parlors, bars, and street points. During 1993,women were selected who answered a questionnaire that inquired about socio-economic and demographic characteristics and sexual behavior, and who gave a blood sample for evaluating the seroprevalence of the herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2), which was evaluated using a Western blot test. Characteristics such as age, education, socio-economic level, sexual behavior, and seroprevalence indicators were related with the work site variable. This last variable was associated with the women's sexual behavior and with the prevalence of antibodies against HSV-2. Socio-economic and sexual behavior characteristics of the women studied, measured at the individual level, were significantly related with social processes such as the organization of commercial sex in Mexico City. This organization is heterogeneous, taking on different expressions depending on the type of work site.