TASHAWN TONGE, who is the National Coordinator of Targeted Interventions, Jamaica AIDS Support, says there are no data to support the extent of the clientele of Jamaican male sex workers. "Because male sex workers operate relatively underground, there is very little that is documented about their activities. Data on female sex workers are more readily available," he stated.
However, despite the absence of reliable data to inform him, Mr. Tonge said that it was not just women from the upper and middle classes who used the services of male sex workers.
"A wide cross section of women use the services of male sex workers; women from all social strata pay for their services," he explained.
He also claimed that a number of women from uptown pay for the services of male sex workers because for a short period they are able to buy something that is lacking in their marriage.
"Some uptown women marry for social reasons and wealth plays a key factor in many of those marriages. Many times companionship is absent from the union, so the women go in search of what is missing from their marriage.
ATTRACTIVE OPTIONS
"Male sex workers are attractive options for these women because of the lack of risk involved in these liaisons," Mr. Tonge explained. "They do not want to get involved in relationships, as they do not want their husbands to find out. With the arrangements with the male sex workers, they can get what they need for that moment and go back to their regular lives afterwards. They can control the situation," he continued.
On the other hand, Mr. Tonge said women from the lower economic scale also use the services of male sex workers as they are also unhappy in their marriages or relationships.
"Some of them marry because of economic reasons, and in those unions, they are supported by men. However, many times the men in their lives are 'dons' in the community and young girls are forced into those relationships with those men and they have no alternative. However, they are able to afford the services of sex workers because they are supported by the dons," Mr. Tonge stated.
UPTOWN MALE SEX WORKERS
Mr. Tonge was unable to say which of the two groups accessed the services of male sex workers more. However, he said a large percentage of male sex workers were from uptown.
"You would be surprised at the amount of men from uptown who are commercial sex workers. These men are employed at regular nine to five jobs during the day, but sell sex at nights," he revealed.
He further explained that there were both heterosexual and homosexual male sex workers in Jamaica, but admitted that there were more heterosexuals who sell sex, than homosexuals.
RISK OF ABUSE
"Jamaica's homophobic climate plays a very strong role in this disparity," he stated. "Homosexual activities are illegal in Jamaica and there is an increased risk of abuse and discovery for men who engage in this activity," he said.
Mr. Bloomfield said the national programme had been involved in interventions among sex workers since the early '90s.
"They (sex workers) are marginalised because of the negative status that society assigns them, so it poses a challenge for them to access services such as information about safer sex practices et cetera," he said.
However, he said the ministry's efforts had intensified. He said some of the components of the interventions include peer education, where educators are trained in skills and knowledge about STI prevention; and condom promotion, with club owners and operators to make sure that condoms are accessible in the nightclubs.
He said the Ministry of Health works with the club owners and the sex workers are receptive to the ministry's representatives when they visit the clubs. Mr. Bloomfield said the level of condom use among sex workers within the clubs is very high and most of the workers also use condoms or oral dams when they engage in oral sex.
CONDOM USE
Condom use among sex workers stands at 82 per cent for males 15-24 years and 75 per cent for those 25 - 49 years old.
Some club owners insist that their workers do HIV tests. However, he said the emphasis is on the use of protection, as a person can become infected at any time. Mr. Bloomfield said many of the sex workers do HIV tests on their own initiative and that a majority of them have been tested multiple times.
Mr. Tonge also noted that based on his work in nightclubs, during which he gives talks on safer sex practices and the use of condoms, he has found that female sex workers in particular, access information on HIV/AIDS and take safer sex precautions seriously. He explained that informed male sex workers also practised safer sex. However, he said there were some male sex workers who did not have access to information on safer sex practices because their activities were undercover.
