CONTEXTS AND PATTERNS OF MENS COMMERCIAL SEXUAL PARTNERSHIPS IN NORTHEASTERN THAILAND - IMPLICATIONS FOR AIDS-PREVENTION

Results of an exploratory research project elaborating the contexts, p atterns and specific scenarios of the commercial sexual activity of no rtheastern Thai men are reported. Data were collected using face-to-fa ce surveys, focus groups, key informant interviews and observations in 32 northeastern villages (n = 744 men), 18 migrant labour camps housi ng sugarcane workers (n = 219 men),and five cattlemarkets in northeast Thailand. Fifty percent of married men and 43% of single men had visi ted female sex workers (FSW). Female sex worker visits occurred primar ily prior to marriage, though 13% of married men had purchased sexual services within the past year. Nonmarital sexual activity was set with in the socio-cultural frameworks of poverty, circular migration, a lar ge commercial sex sector, and a belief system about men's sexuality an d men's and women's gender roles. Sexual services were typically purch ased as part of friendship group partying (paiy tiaow) and generally i ncluded heavy alcohol consumption. The most common scenario for visiti ng FSWs involved brothels, though cattlemarkets, festivals, and migran t labour situations were also scenarios for FSW contact. These each ha d unique characteristics that affected the likelihood that condoms wou ld be used. The further the specifics of a scenario (as evaluated by m en) diverged from those of brothel contact with an FSW, the less likel y men were to identify this as having the potential for HIV transmissi on and the less likely they were to use a condom. AIDS prevention camp aigns must be developed that are sensitive to the socio-cultural frame work, contexts and specific scenarios within which nonmarital sexual c ontacts occur. Copyright (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd