Sale of sex for drugs and drugs for sex: an economic context of sexual risk behavior for STDs.
- Resource Type
- Academic Journal
- Authors
- Baseman J; Ross M; Williams M; Baseman, J; Ross, M; Williams, M
- Source
- Sexually Transmitted Diseases (SEX TRANSM DIS), Sep99; 26(8): 444-449. (6p)
- Subject
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 0148-5717
Background and Objectives: Persons who participate in behaviors such as drug use and buying or selling sex are at elevated risk for sexually transmitted diseases (STD)/human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection.Goals: To describe the economic structure supporting drug use and the buying and selling of sex services in two urban Houston communities.Study Design: Residents of two Houston communities participated in street-intercept interviews to obtain information on sex and drug use behaviors.Results: Many members of the population reported having bought or sold sex. A history of crack use significantly predicted the trading of sex for money and drugs, and sellers of sex were more likely to have engaged in recent high-risk sexual behavior than those who had never sold sex.Conclusion: The data are suggestive of an underground economy for the exchange of sex for drugs or money, the existence of which facilitates the spread of STDs in high-risk communities.