Marseille 2007
Marseille 2007
Abstract book
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Abstract #460  -  HIV- and STD-Prevention for Sex Workers Clients via Internet
Session:
  20.6: New tools, new toys (Parallel) on Monday @ 14.00-16.00 in PR Chaired by John De Wit, Seth Kalichman
Authors:
  Presenting Author:   Ms Harriet Langanke - Redaktion Sexsicher, Germany
 
  Additional Authors:   
Aim:
Intervention methods and projects of prevention of HIV and STD in settings of prostitution usually focus on the sex workers, not on their clients. However, sex workers in Germany claim that many of their clients prefer unprotected sex. Clients used to be unapproachable for public health experts and their interventions. Since the internet provides certain platforms for sex workers clients, prevention and public health experts search for ways to reach them via internet with information and education.
 
Method / Issue:
In Germany, many men use the internet to learn about venues and opportunities for real life encounters with sex workers. During the last decade, a new kind of platform emerged on the German internet: Sex workers clients set up forums for themselves and their peers to exchange information, primarily on the quality of services. On the initiative of the Federal Centre of Health Education in Germany a web based project for sex workers clients was developed and installed: www.sexsicher.de. We built up contact with some of the providers of those forums and in close cooperation we developed a special platform addressing clients of sex workers with sexual health issues. The web sites of the internet based project www.sexsicher.de, together with its English (www.sex-safe.info) and Spanish (www.sexo-mas-seguro.info) version, provide information especially for sex workers clients. Besides offering an adequate platform on the web, this platform needs to be promoted. In connection with the soccer world championship in Germany in the summer of 2006, campaigns - off and on line - aiming at sex workers clients lead to a remarkable increase in the projects logfiles.
 
Results / Comments:
We have learned that we need a certain style of language to address the target group properly, e.g. it ought to use the appropriate vocabulary. We have also learnt that the navigational structure of our web project had to be built around the needs of the target group, not around diseases or pathogens. None of those lessons could have been learned without the close collaboration with key persons providing the clients forums. A shift of paradigm in social as well as in legal aspects, i.e. decriminalization of sex workers clients, was crucial for the acceptability of our project. A hype during the soccer world championship on issues of prostitution helped us to promote the project off and online, which lead to a remarkable increase in the projects usage; log file numbers tripled and are still going strong
 
Discussion:
Sex work in Germany takes place in very different settings. These settings have a strong influence on the clients' identity and on their behaviour. We still need to reach those forums that offensively promote unsafe sex.
 
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