Poverty hinders HIV protecting efforts

In the world, Asia has been considered as rapidly advancing with HIV/AIDS infections. Most of the people of Bangladesh are saved from HIV virus and its existence is very slow. But it is suspected that if HIV epidemic entangles our people, it may infect quickly. As the people are in the risky situation, the consciousness of HIV/AIDS among the mass people here is not sufficient at all.

In Bangladesh, Philippines, and India the frequency of prostitutes are visible but the use of condoms among the prostitutes are rare. The prostitutes or the brothels based sex workers of Bangladesh are conducted with more clients who are not less than compare to the clients of other Asian countries. A brothel based sex worker conducts more than 19 clients in a week and street sex worker meets 12-16 clients and a hotel sex worker gets more than 40 clients at the same time.

Because of being rigid social tiles, inequitable activities like pre-marital sex and extra-marital sex are hardly visible in Bangladesh. Though it would be proven wrong seeing the scenario of turn over of the clients, it is not a matter of surprising. Though social decay like drug addiction, human trafficking, domestic violence, and dowry etc. are increasing rapidly, it is not comparatively more than other Asian countries.

In the developing countries women and girls are migrating from place to place to remove their poverty. They live in cities by forsaking their birthplace without any co-operative help or protection from city men and ultimately they are tempted to involve in commercial sex. As a result, they gradually become vulnerable to HIV/AIDS. They become helpless in the midst of new situation and they are not able to protect themselves from sexually transmitted infections and they become infected with HIV/AIDS.

The number of street sex workers in Bangladesh is increasing rapidly. They generally stay nearly one year in a particular place before transferring to other destinations. In a research on sex workers was conducted in Dhaka city by Apex Club of Renaissance shown that most of the street sex workers are poor and uneducated, and they come from rural areas. They are mainly in the midst of HIV risk as they are sexually conducted with many clients per night but they rarely use condoms. New sex workers are generally vulnerable to infect with HIV during the first six months of admitting into the sex industry because they no pre-idea of any STDs. Sometimes they can't bargain with their clients to use condoms that also increase HIV/AIDS.

Social researcher Md. Altaf Hossain Mahabub said, "As prostitutes work as a catalyst to spread HIV/AIDS, proper steps should be taken by the government to rehabilitate them engaging various works/ jobs. If they get opportunities to engage at any better job, they may give up such profession. Not only government but also different types of NGOs should come forward to rehabilitate them." Professor Md. Aktarul Alam said, "Although they are considered as sporadic inhabitants, they no longer separate from our society. So we should come forward to prevent HIV/AIDS altogether. So we can't think of preventing HIV/AIDS without thinking about them."

There is no alternative to raise social awareness to control HIV/AIDS. Print and electric media also play a vital role in this regard. Special programmes should be telecast on showing the cause and effects of HIV/AIDS. It is true that if we fail to control it, we shall lose our existence in near future. So we have to control it by hook or by crook and it is high time we controlled it.

Sex workers are considered as the highest risk of being HIV infected because they have great possibility to sexual conduct with such client who is already infected with HIV. Rainbow Nari O Shishu Kallyan Foundation has found that a one year experienced prostitutes can visit about five clients in a week. They make sex in garden, street and marketplace, at night in a park, terminal place and riverbanks etc. Many prostitutes are deprived of stability and family bondages. They are enforced to involve in sex industry. They are also socially banned. So, they are not allowed to get common work and also do not come in high position and are neglected to get work.

Most of the sex workers and their clients have no clear conception about HIV/AIDS. Not only sex workers and their clients but also the common people of Bangladesh are devoid of the knowledge of HIV/AIDS. It can be explained such a way that there are some people living in rural areas have not ever heard the name of this disease. Most of the people are illiterate. So the illiteracy is one of the main obstacles to aware them easily. On the other hand, poverty is also acute here. As a result, they are not willing to follow the dictate of HIV/AIDS preventive practice because the matter of their livelihood engages in their sex trade.

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Poverty hinders HIV protecting efforts

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