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Strengthening participation by young women sex workers in HIV programs: reflections on a study from Bangkok, Thailand

BACKGROUND: Participation is an accepted means of increasing the effectiveness of public health programs, and as such, it is considered an important component of HIV interventions targeting at-risk youth. The situation of young women sex workers in Thailand is alarming on many fronts, including that...

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Autores principales: Conn, Cath, Modderman, Kristel, Nayar, Shoba
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Dove Medical Press 2017
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5592913/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28919824
http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/IJWH.S141996
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author Conn, Cath
Modderman, Kristel
Nayar, Shoba
author_facet Conn, Cath
Modderman, Kristel
Nayar, Shoba
author_sort Conn, Cath
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: Participation is an accepted means of increasing the effectiveness of public health programs, and as such, it is considered an important component of HIV interventions targeting at-risk youth. The situation of young women sex workers in Thailand is alarming on many fronts, including that of HIV risk. As a result, HIV programs in Thailand are the key interventions undertaken in relation to young women sex workers’ health. A small-scale study used semistructured interviews to explore the participation reports of five young women sex workers, as well as the related views of two community support workers, who lived and worked in Bangkok, Thailand. DISCUSSION: This study is considered in the light of current research on – as well as new opportunities and challenges offered for – participation by vulnerable groups in the context of digital society. Thematic analysis of the interview data identified barriers to participation, including the illegality of sex work, fear, and lack of trust of the authorities, as well as widespread social stigma. Such barriers resulted in young women seeking anonymity. Yet, promisingly, young women positioned themselves as experts; they are involved in peer education and are supportive of greater involvement in HIV programs, such as further educational initiatives and collective actions. CONCLUSION: There is a need for a more empowerment-oriented participation practice positioning young women sex workers as expert educators and codecision makers within a model of participation that is also accountable, such as including young women as members of program boards. Beyond current norms, there are new opportunities emerging because of the increasing availability of smartphone/Internet technology. These can support activist and codesign participation by young women sex workers in HIV programs. However, any developments in participation must maximize opportunities carefully, taking into consideration the difficult social environment faced by young women sex workers as well as the need for strategies to address illegality and stigma.
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spelling pubmed-55929132017-09-15 Strengthening participation by young women sex workers in HIV programs: reflections on a study from Bangkok, Thailand Conn, Cath Modderman, Kristel Nayar, Shoba Int J Womens Health Original Research BACKGROUND: Participation is an accepted means of increasing the effectiveness of public health programs, and as such, it is considered an important component of HIV interventions targeting at-risk youth. The situation of young women sex workers in Thailand is alarming on many fronts, including that of HIV risk. As a result, HIV programs in Thailand are the key interventions undertaken in relation to young women sex workers’ health. A small-scale study used semistructured interviews to explore the participation reports of five young women sex workers, as well as the related views of two community support workers, who lived and worked in Bangkok, Thailand. DISCUSSION: This study is considered in the light of current research on – as well as new opportunities and challenges offered for – participation by vulnerable groups in the context of digital society. Thematic analysis of the interview data identified barriers to participation, including the illegality of sex work, fear, and lack of trust of the authorities, as well as widespread social stigma. Such barriers resulted in young women seeking anonymity. Yet, promisingly, young women positioned themselves as experts; they are involved in peer education and are supportive of greater involvement in HIV programs, such as further educational initiatives and collective actions. CONCLUSION: There is a need for a more empowerment-oriented participation practice positioning young women sex workers as expert educators and codecision makers within a model of participation that is also accountable, such as including young women as members of program boards. Beyond current norms, there are new opportunities emerging because of the increasing availability of smartphone/Internet technology. These can support activist and codesign participation by young women sex workers in HIV programs. However, any developments in participation must maximize opportunities carefully, taking into consideration the difficult social environment faced by young women sex workers as well as the need for strategies to address illegality and stigma. Dove Medical Press 2017-09-05 /pmc/articles/PMC5592913/ /pubmed/28919824 http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/IJWH.S141996 Text en © 2017 Conn et al. This work is published and licensed by Dove Medical Press Limited The full terms of this license are available at https://www.dovepress.com/terms.php and incorporate the Creative Commons Attribution – Non Commercial (unported, v3.0) License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/). By accessing the work you hereby accept the Terms. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed.
spellingShingle Original Research
Conn, Cath
Modderman, Kristel
Nayar, Shoba
Strengthening participation by young women sex workers in HIV programs: reflections on a study from Bangkok, Thailand
title Strengthening participation by young women sex workers in HIV programs: reflections on a study from Bangkok, Thailand
title_full Strengthening participation by young women sex workers in HIV programs: reflections on a study from Bangkok, Thailand
title_fullStr Strengthening participation by young women sex workers in HIV programs: reflections on a study from Bangkok, Thailand
title_full_unstemmed Strengthening participation by young women sex workers in HIV programs: reflections on a study from Bangkok, Thailand
title_short Strengthening participation by young women sex workers in HIV programs: reflections on a study from Bangkok, Thailand
title_sort strengthening participation by young women sex workers in hiv programs: reflections on a study from bangkok, thailand
topic Original Research
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5592913/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28919824
http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/IJWH.S141996
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