Abstract:
The study was carried out among 340 brothel based female commercial sex workers in the
district of Colombo using an interviewer administered questionnaire. The mean age of the
study sample was 31.8 years (SD 8.0 years, range 15 to 57 years). Fifty percent of the
women were from out side the Colombo district. One third of the women were married.
Most women have attained some reasonable education going beyond primary education
the majority (95) of female sex workers entered this profession due to economical hardships.
Eighty percent of women continued in the profession and had been in sex trade for more
than 12 months. A statistically significant association was observed between duration of
prostitution and fee per partner (p0.05). Unprotected sex was common with only 50 using
condoms continuously and consistently. Around 29 of the study population had engaged
in sex during menstruation. .Among female sex workers, 27 use alcohol, heroin (1.2), and
Ganja (0.3 ) currently. Unprotected sex was common among substance abusers. Pregnancy
being an occupational hazard, 80 practice some form of contraception The average number
of clients per week was 10.There was a statistically significant association between condom
use and fee per partner. When assessing the knowledge of STI, it was observed that most of
them had heard about STI (91) and lIIV (92). The STI they were able to name were
gonorrhoea (55), syphilis (45), warts (37), herpes (17). Awareness on the availability of
STD clinic service was poor. Only 30 of female sex workers have been exposed to
condom promotion programmes. Consistence condom use among brothel based female sex
workers had statically significant (P0.005) associations with variable such as education,
marital status, duration in prostitution, substance abuse, fee per partner and having regular
partners. This study sample which consisted of women who started their sexual life at an
younger age, with a fairly good education background and were married had a good
knowledge on basic facts of STI including transmission methods of HIV infection. High
risk behaviours such as inconsistent condom use, multiple partners per week, anal sex, sex
during menstruation, unprotected sex for a higher fee were observed among them.
