Male prostitution and sexually transmitted disease

Abstract

There has been a relatively small number of studies of male prostitution compared with female prostitution. Cultural blindness to the existence of male prostitutes, togheter with difficulties in gaining access to a representative sample of such individuals, has led to a situation where male prostitution is poorly recognized, poorly understood and inadequately managed. Male prostitutes may be important in the spread of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and other infections to both the homosexual and heterosexual communities, particularly in areas of the world where prostitution and drug abuse are common. Despite the high risk activities performed by male prostitutes, they are poor users of available health service resources. We review the existing literature on male prostitution, the acquisition of sexually transmitted infection and discuss possible ways of improving the provision of health care services for this group.