Inter Press Service - Wednesday, December 23, 1998
Abraham Lama

The Peer Educators Programme, which has been in operation for 18 months, has managed to keep the the prevalence of AIDS among Peru's 41,000 prostitutes to below one percent, making it the country with the lowest incidence of HIV/AIDS among sex workers.

According to Patricia Segura, head of the Health Ministry's STD/AIDS Control Programme, a study was done to identify areas in Lima with the highest levels of prostitutions. It came up with a list of 151 streets and establishments.

The Ministry then contracted the Via Libre, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) which, says Segura, "was already well-known because they helped women without asking questions or asking for identification".

"We asked them to locate leaders among the sex workers to try to convince them to join the programme," adds Segura.

Twenty women who worked in brothels in Lima and Callao were selected. They participated in training workshops for the prevention of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and then started working as educators.

"They are paid very little compared to what they can earn in their line of work, around 80 dollars a month for three half-days of work, but we understand that it is not the pay that they are most interested in," Segura says.

Techi, one of the educators and a prostitute for five years, found an outlet for her creativity in the programme. "As a child I liked to write poems and stories, but I stopped doing that," she recalls. "Now I use my abilities to convince my colleagues."

"I use my own experiences and create stories that involve AIDS and other diseases," says Techi, who devotes four hours three days a week to her new work. "We believe that no one can love us because we work as prostitutes, we believe no one cares about us, that no one cares if we get ill or die. But I believe that my stories move them and help convince them."

"I was always afraid of AIDS," adds Techi. "Helping my friends makes me feel better, more human. Money doesn't solve everything. Maybe with money one can buy a house, but not a home ... I know that if I protect myself I am not only protecting my client but also my own family."

Physician Ada Mejia, of Via Libre works with the Ministry of Health on the programme. "Eighty percent of the prostitutes in Lima are heads of their household," she says. "They have three or four children, and very low self-esteem."

"It is difficult for Health Ministry staff to approach these women, but people who are engaged in the same line of work speak their language and have a better chance of engaging them and persuading them to protect themselves," she explains.

Of the 8,000 people living with the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) in Peru, 65 percent are in Lima and the nearby port of Callao. Most are young men between the ages of 20 and 29.

It is estimated that another 50,000 to 70,000 are infected with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) but because they do not display any symptoms, they are unaware of their condition.

While prostitutes are not among the social groups with the highest incidence of AIDS, according to official statistics, they are considered a priority sector in terms of prevention since they are potential transmitters of HIV.

It is estimated that every prostitute attends an average of five clients per day. If she rests one a day a week, that means 120 sexual encounters per month, and 1,400 per year.

Techi and the other educators go out onto the streets with a large number of condoms. Their task is to had out at least four to each of the sex workers they make come into contact with and show them how to negotiate with their clients to make them agree to use the contraceptive device.

"This is important, because most men who visit prostitutes refuse to use condoms, and sometimes will even offer to pay more money if they don't have to use them," explains Mejia.

The peer educators also distribute referral cards, which allow the prostitutes to visit one of Via Libre's three medical centers in Lima and Callao. These cards have numbers that enable the NGO to calculate how many women each promoter refers.

Since the beginning of the programme, 28,598 sex workers have been examined and, where necessary treated, for STDs in 17 referral centersset up in various towns throughout the country. (END/IPS/al/mj/he hd/jmb/kb/98)
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