Inspired by a study indicating low prevalence of HIV/AIDS among their members, commercial sex workers in Akwa Ibom State anticipate a boom in business
Statistics of testing obtained from the state Agency for the Control of HIV/AIDS revealed a 4 per cent low prevalence rate among the sex workers in the state.
The statistics however revealed that at 51.4 per cent, the prevalence rate is highest among married men and women while the figure for those who engaged in casual sex was put at 30 per cent.
According to some commercial sex workers whose views The Next Edition sampled at Diamond Guest House, Ikot Ambon, off Aka Nung Udoe Road, the outcome of the survey provided enough reason for members to be upbeat in anticipation of dramatic improvement in patronage for members.
Though some of those interviewed claimed ignorance of the report, others lamented declining patronage in the business, especially arising from the presumption by many that commercial sex workers were more prone and at greater risk.
For example, a member who gave her name as Nancy expressed considerable excitement about the development.
Nancy who was not aware of the latest controversy said through an interpreter that “she did not expect anything short of the result.”
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“There is no girl that wants to die young, even though such a person finds herself in this business. No matter the amount of inducement, we always ensure that we take all the precautions that are accepted as necessary; always keep ourselves neat,” she said.
Another sex worker at the same brothel, “Lily Girl”, as she was fondly called by her friends, said that she was not aware of any controversy. But after explanation, she simply asked: “Does that mean more people will be coming to patronize us than before?”
Another commercial sex worker in the same hotel, Monik, waived off our correspondent, saying that “nobody should come and bother me with too many< questions”.
“I know what I am doing here. It is not as if I like what I’m doing here. So nobody should come and disturb me,” she said.
