HIV/AIDS Risk Among Brothel-Based Female Sex Workers in China: Assessing the Terms, Content, and Knowledge of Sex Work

Abstract

To the Editor: Huang et al reported the results of ethnographic observations and in-depth interviews conducted in south China, including 158 female prostitutes from 45 brothels in 4 red light districts.1 The authors compared wealthy suburb areas of city B with poorer places of city A using samples of 10 and 148 sex workers, respectively, but it was not clear how the statistical analysis was performed. Moreover, the authors did not report illicit drug use by sex workers or trade sex for drugs. Illicit drug use is the cause of expanding HIV infection in several countries as a result of intravenous drug use and sharing needles and syringes.2 Huang et al did not describe if there are nongovernmental or governmental organizations where the prostitutes could be tested and receive counseling for HIV infection. This information would give us a full picture of women's vulnerability in China, where injecting drug use and unprotected sexual intercourse between prostitutes and men who have sex with men are the fuels of the HIV epidemics.3