Durban - For a young sex worker, taking a drug that can help prevent her contracting HIV, brings her one step closer to leaving the job.
The young woman - who cannot be named because of the sensitive nature of her work - rendered her heartfelt account at the “PrEParing to be HIV Free” event ahead of the International Aids Conference which begins on Monday.
The seminar explored themes around pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) drugs, which includes the Truvada pill being rolled out to sex workers, who have been hailed for their ability to keep HIV-negative people from becoming infected.
The medication interferes with HIV’s ability to copy itself in the body after the person has been exposed.
In his budget speech in May, National Minister of Health Dr Aaron Motsoaledi announced that, as of last month, selected sex worker programmes around the country would offer oral ARVs as pre-exposure prophylaxis in addition to the other HIV prevention interventions, and would offer treatment upon diagnosis for those that were HIV-positive.
They said an estimated 20% of the 350 000 people annually infected with HIV in South Africa were connected with sex work.
“HIV prevalence amongst female sex workers in South Africa is estimated to be 59.8%. The SA Health Monitoring Survey of Female Sex Workers (SAHMS-FSW) estimated that the prevalence of HIV among female sex workers was 71.8% in Johannesburg, 39.7% in Cape Town, and 53.5% in eThekwini,”the department said in a statement.
These significantly high rates of infection, coupled with the possibility of onward transmission to their clients and partners, confirmed the urgency of focused interventions for sex workers, said the department.
The young sex worker said: “My biggest fear was what would happen if the condom burst. I always wondered what would happen to me if I contracted HIV.”
She said she still used condoms because of the risk of getting other infections, but her mind was at ease in terms of the virus. “Look, I don’t want to do this for the rest of my life. I have dreams and ambitions. I want a life after this.”
She said she entered the industry in 2013. “My boyfriend kicked me out and I had nowhere to go. I was on the streets.”
She met several people, who told her about sex work. “They never forced me. It was my choice. I needed a place to stay and to be able to buy food, so I did what I needed to.”
The woman is in a committed relationship now and has a two-year-old daughter.
“My boyfriend is very supportive of me and of me taking the drug. He understands that I am protecting him by protecting myself.”
They both know their HIV status. “I don’t care about what other people say; this is just a job to me. I’m supporting my family, and that’s all that matters.”
The woman - who says she can make up to R3 000 on a single weekend - could not bear the thought of telling her daughter one day that she had contracted HIV - which prompted her to start the treatment.
“I have been taking it for 18 days now. When I’ve been taking it for 21 days, I will be fully protected.”
She was initially suspicious of the drug, she said. “I was scared of the side-effects and if it was really going to work. It seemed too good to be true.”
The sex workers who decided not to use the pill said they were not sick and did not need a pill. Others believed that the roll-out was part of “research”and refused to be part of it.
Despite the sex worker’s initial misgivings, she began taking the drug. “My advice to any sex worker is to take it. Protect yourself.”
Daily News