The Shenzhen Center for Disease Control and Prevention has picked up China’s Blood Disaster: The Way Forward, a report jointly prepared by Asia Catalyst and Korekata AIDS Law Center .
By Willa Dong
When the health needs of female sex workers (FSWs) are discussed, reproductive health and preventing HIV/AIDS are often the first things that are brought up. However, like any other person, a sex worker has a variety of health needs.
I became interested exploring these needs and trying to understand the extent to which mental health is a priority for FSWs last September. Since then, I have looked at these issues in Shenzhen, China, through formal interviews with sex workers and also simply by spending time at a karaoke bar, beauty salons, and in neighborhoods, to get to know sex workers, mommies, and clients. I chose to do a smaller, qualitative study because it was important for me as a non-sex worker to understand the perspectives of sex workers, who already have a clear idea of their needs.
In China each year, and important government meetings before holidays, the Chinese government will regularly “social undesirables” such as sex workers, drug addicts and other groups were crackdown. Sex workers, and women activist Ye Haiyan (also known as rogue Yan) is continually proposed crackdown influence caused by low-income sex workers, and emphasized the plight they face.
By Hou Ye
The debate around real-name HIV testing–sparked by proposals in Guangxi and Hunan provinces early this year–has pushed the issue of confidentiality once again to center stage. To decrease loss to follow-up among people who test positive for HIV (i.e. people not returning for their results), testing agencies should rigorously protect patients’ confidentiality. Without an expectation of confidentiality, people may be reluctant to return for test results and be HIV-identified. This issue is no longer just relevant to hospitals, as a growing number of community-based organizations have begun providing HIV screening to their members and clients. Many of these organizations work with key affected populations (KAPs), such as gay and male sex workers, provide HIV screening to their communities. It is important for these agencies to share their experiences.
随着前段时间广西、湖南等地拟立法推行艾滋病检测实名制引起社会各界激烈的讨论，感染者的隐私权成为关注焦点。值得注意的是，为降低艾滋病检测的阳性流失率，检测机构应该对个人信息严密的保护以及负责人的后续跟进#。因此近几年来，在中国各个地区出现了越来越多的社区小组，他们大多来自于重点或易感人群–男同、男性性工作者等，为社区成员提供HIV抗体快速初筛检测。
By Meg Davis
Chinese authorities hold periodic sweeps to detain sex workers, drug users, and other ‘social undesirables’ en masse in advance of national holidays and major government conferences. Sex workers, including feminist activist Ye Haiyan (also known as Hooligan Sparrow) are increasingly vocal in raising concerns about the effects of these raids, highlighting the hardships faced by the lowest-paid sex workers.
In the often-heated international debate about criminal penalties on sex work, we rarely hear the voices of sex workers themselves. But in China, a new network representing Chinese sex workers says that police crackdowns don’t stop sex work – they only drive sex workers further underground, putting them at higher risk of violence and HIV/AIDS.
