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Does Condom Use Affect the Earnings of Commercial Sex Workers? New Evidence from a Survey of Female Sex Workers in India. Swadhin Mondal and Indrani Gupta Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi, India. Main Motivation of the study: Increased condom use is a major instrument for preventing HIV
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Does Condom Use Affect the Earnings of Commercial Sex Workers? New Evidence from a Survey of Female Sex Workers in India • Swadhin Mondal and Indrani GuptaInstitute of Economic Growth, Delhi, India Main Motivation of the study: • Increased condom use is a major instrument for preventing HIV • Condom use affects the price of sex work and welfare of the sex workers • Earlier studies found that there was a negative premium for using condoms • There has been a rapid increase in use of condoms in sex work • In the current scenario, is this finding still valid? Objectives: • This paper examines the two-way association between price per sexual act and condom use in the commercial sex market.
Data and Methods: • Survey data on 5498 female sex workers in India • Simultaneous equations model • Three-stage least squares (3SLS)method. Results: • 72 % consistent condom users • Brothel based sex workers are the highest condom users • Sex worker received 52 percent higher premium for safe sex with regular clients
No negative impact of condom use on price • Two way positive relationships between price and condom use • Brothel based sex worker seem to be getting lower price when they adhere to safe sex. Conclusions: • Unsafe sex is no longer seen as an attractive alternative • Possible to further step up the intensity of behavioral interventions for enhancing condom use • Brothel-based sex workers and regular partners of sex workers need special attention