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Client-Perpetrated Violence Experience Among Female Sex Worker in Guangdong, South China: Results from a Cross-Sectional Study

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Abstract

Client-perpetrated violence (CPV) can lead to worse health consequences. However, little attention is paid to the CPV experience among Chinese female sex workers. Our study aimed to assess the association between CPV experience and health risk behaviors among FSWs in China. Data used in this study was from the baseline interviewer-administered questionnaire of a cluster randomized controlled trial conducted in June–October 2020. The collected information included sociodemographic characteristics, HIV/STI symptoms, number of clients, quality of the workplace, and past CPV experience. The association between violence experience and potential HIV/STI risk factors was explored using multivariable regression. Among 480 FSWs who participated in this study, 13.5% experienced CPV in the past. Compared to those who had never experienced CPV, FSWs who experienced CPV were more likely to report previous STI-related symptoms (aOR 4.29, 95% CI 1.73–10.64), more than 15 clients in the past month (aOR 2.56, 95% CI 1.18–5.52), a history of HIV testing (aOR 2.99, 95% CI 1.64–5.46), and work at low-tier workplaces (aOR 2.09, 95% CI 1.18–3.70). Overall, CPV prevalence is not low among Chinese FSWs, and there are some associations with HIV/STI risk factors; a future intervention targeting CPV in HIV/STI prevention programs is needed.

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Acknowledgements

We appreciate the support from the Dermatology Hospital of South Medical University, Yunfu Chronic Disease Prevention Center, Maoming Chronic Disease Prevention Center, Yangjiang Public Health Hospital, Yingde Chronic Disease Control Hospital, and NGO volunteers for the data collection.

Funding

This study received support from internal institute funding from Zhuhai Center for Disease Prevention and Control. This work was also supported by the National Nature Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 81903371), the National Institutes of Health (Grant Nos. NIAID 1R01AI114310-01, NIAID K24AI143471), and NIMH (Grant Nos. R34MH109359 and R34MH119963).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Duke Global Health Institute, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA

    Yewei Xie

  2. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Project-China, Guangzhou, China

    Yewei Xie

  3. Dermatology Hospital of South Medical University, Guangzhou, China

    Mingzhou Xiong, Cheng Wang & Weiming Tang

  4. Yunfu Chronic Disease Prevention Center, Yunfu, China

    Zhidong Qi

  5. Maoming Chronic Disease Prevention Center, Maoming, China

    Jingwen Shen

  6. Yangjiang Public Health Hospital, Yangjiang, China

    Xiaojuan Xu

  7. Yingde Chronic Disease Control Hospital, Yingde, China

    Xinyi Luo

  8. Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 130 Mason Farm Road 7030, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA

    Weiming Tang

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Contributions

WT, WC, and YX conceptualized this study; YX, MX, ZQ, JS, XX, and XL collected the data; YX completed the data analysis and manuscript drafting. WT, WC, and YX revised the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Cheng Wang or Weiming Tang.

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The ethical committees of the Southern Medical University Dermatology Hospital (China) and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (USA) approved the study.

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Xie, Y., Xiong, M., Qi, Z. et al. Client-Perpetrated Violence Experience Among Female Sex Worker in Guangdong, South China: Results from a Cross-Sectional Study. AIDS Behav 27, 806–815 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-022-03813-3

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