Obrist B, Perera E, Lohr M, Ehrsam M; International Conference on AIDS.

Int Conf AIDS. 1992 Jul 19-24; 8: D496 (abstract no. PoD 5646).

Swiss AIDS Foundation, Zurich.

ISSUE: According to the study IPSO, every sixth Swiss man aged between 20 and 70 years is a regular client of prostitutes. In spite of the information campaign against AIDS, many clients still demand to be served without condom. They brazenly exploit the financial dependency of these women to impose their will. On her own, no prostitute would refuse to use a condom. DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT: A team "Prostitutes and Aids" of the Swiss Aids Foundation (SAF), consisting of prostitutes and women experts had elaborated a project called "Logo Campaign". The goal of this campaign is to reach clients via prostitutes and to get them to use condoms. Most prostitutes in Switzerland work in so-called massage parlours, and they publish detailed advertisements, mostly with foto, in the sex press. Some of them also advertise in big Swiss daily papers, often only with name and phone number, under the heading "contacts". The so called "Logo Campaign" has been launched by the SAF in collaboration with the Swiss sex press: Prostitutes may voluntarily include a logo in their advertisements stating "come again--I'm always doing it with". RESULTS: After 6 months, the average percentage of advertisements with the "label of quality" in four sex magazines (out of total six in Switzerland) presently amounts to 69.7%. LESSONS LEARNED: Professional prostitutes have integrated the correct use of condoms and the methods of "safer sex" into their work. Therefore, preventive messages should reach all those prostitutes who are in a social position that allows clients to force them to unsafe sex, e.g. drug consumers, or those, who cannot be reached by the official prevention campaign because of their different language and culture, e.g. emigrants. For these cases, the improvement of economic poverty is more important than preventive messages. Instead, more prevention should be aimed at the clients of prostitutes.

Publication Types:

• Meeting Abstracts

Keywords:

• Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
• Advertising as Topic
• Behavior
• Condoms
• Culture
• Female
• Humans
• Male
• Prostitution
• Research
• Safe Sex
• Switzerland
• education
• organization & administration
• prevention & control

Other ID:

• 92403119

UI: 102200833

From Meeting Abstracts