The cost of safe sex: estimating the price premium for unprotected sex during the Avahan HIV prevention programme in India.

ABSTRACT: There is some evidence that female sex workers (FSWs) receive greater earnings for providing unprotected sex. In 2003, the landscape of the fight against HIV/AIDS dramatically changed in India with the introduction of Avahan, the largest HIV prevention programme implemented globally. Using a unique, cross-sectional bio-behavioural dataset from 3591 FSWs located in the four Indian states where Avahan was implemented, we estimate the economic loss faced by FSWs who always use condoms. We estimate the causal effect of condom use on the price charged during the last paid sexual intercourse using the random targeting of Avahan as an instrumental variable. Results indicate that FSWs who always use condoms face an income loss of 65% (INR125, US$2.60) per sex act compared to peers providing unprot

SUBMITTER: Quaife M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6913694 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature