Generational sex work and HIV risk among Indigenous women in a street-based urban Canadian setting

Bibliographic Data

ID15098153
AuthorsBrittany Bingham (0000-0001-7873-0263, Gender and Sexual Health Initiative, BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Vancouver, Canada), Diane Leo (Downtown Eastside Sex Workers United Against Violence Society, Vancouver, Canada), Ruth Zhang (Gender and Sexual Health Initiative, BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Vancouver, Canada), Julio Montaner (0000-0002-6201-9829, Gender and Sexual Health Initiative, BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Vancouver, Canada), Kate Shannon (0000-0002-6764-5212, Gender and Sexual Health Initiative, BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Vancouver, Canada, corresponding author)
Year2014
Volume16
Issue4
Pages440-452
Publication date2014-04-21
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueCulture Health & Sexuality (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1369-1058 • E-ISSN: 1464-5351
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/13691058.2014.888480
PMID24654881
PMCIDPMC4038328
OpenAlexW1990767817
LanguageEN
Citations received25
References cited23

In Canada, Indigenous women are over-represented among new HIV infections and street-based sex workers. Scholars suggest that Aboriginal women's HIV risk stems from intergenerational effects of colonisation and racial policies. This research examined generational sex work involvement among Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal women and the effect on risk for HIV acquisition. The sample included 225 women in street-based sex work and enrolled in a community-based prospective cohort, in partnership with local sex work and Aboriginal community partners. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression modeled an independent relationship between Aboriginal ancestry and generational sex work and the impact of generational sex work on HIV infection among Aboriginal sex workers. Aboriginal women (48%) were more likely to be HIV-positive, with 34% living with HIV compared to 24% non-Aboriginal women. In multivariate logistic regression model, Aboriginal women remained three times more likely to experience generational sex work (AOR:2.97; 95%CI:1.5,5.8). Generational sex work was significantly associated with HIV (AOR = 3.01, 95%CI: 1.67-4.58) in a confounder model restricted to Aboriginal women. High prevalence of generational sex work among Aboriginal women and three-fold increased risk for HIV infection are concerning. Policy reforms and community-based, culturally safe and trauma informed HIV-prevention initiatives are required for Indigenous sex workers

Cohort · Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV · Indigenous · Logistic regression · Sex work · Sociology · Demography · Gender Studies · HIV, Drug Use, Sexual Risk · Homelessness and Social Issues · Medicine · Sex work and related issues · Gerontology · Immunology

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