SEGMENTATION OF HETEROSEXUAL PROSTITUTION INTO VARIOUS FORMS - A BARRIER TO THE POTENTIAL TRANSMISSION OF HIV

The results of an earlier Dutch study on prostitutes' clients, intervi ewed face-to-face, were cross-validated by means of telephone intervie ws, which both guaranteed anonymity and produced a larger sample of re spondents (n = 559). Depending on their preference and financial resou rces, they had visited different types of prostitution; but about half of them had restricted themselves to one type. Inconsistent use of co ndoms was reported by 14% of the clients who had had vaginal or anal i ntercourse. Condoms were most frequently used in clubs, brothels and w indow prostitution, and least often in street, home and escort prostit ution; in the last two sorts especially not with regular prostitutes. Whether or not prostitutes came from non-Western countries had no infl uence on protective behaviour of these clients. The formation of netwo rks between different sorts of prostitution, through unsafe sexual con tacts in two or more sorts, involved only 3% of respondents. Thus, pro stitution in The Netherlands should be seen as a number of sparsely-co nnected networks rather than as a single network. The formation of net works between prostitution and the population at large is made possibl e by the 10% of the respondents who had had unsafe contacts with both commercial and private partners.