Street life and drug risk behaviors associated with exchanging sex among male street children in Lahore, Pakistan.
BACKGROUND
Throughout the developing world, children living on urban streets is a byproduct of economic deprivation. In Lahore, Pakistan, there are an estimated 5,000-7,000 street children.


OBJECTIVE
The study examined HIV risk behaviors and factors associated with exchanging sex among male street children in Lahore, Pakistan.


METHODS
The survey was conducted from August 2003 to March 2004 among 565 registrants, ages 5-19, of Project Smile, a program that aimed to enhance the lives of street children in Lahore. We analyzed the frequency of and correlates of recent (past 3 months) sex exchange for money, drugs, or goods. Multivariate log-binomial regression was used to evaluate the independent effect of covariates on exchange sex.


RESULTS
Approximately 40% of participants reported having exchanged sex during the past 3 months. In multivariate analysis, the factors associated with exchanging sex were living on the street for longer than 48 months (Prevalence Ratio [PR]=1.36, 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 0.99-1.85), reporting ever having used drugs (PR=1.87, 1.10-3.16), cutting one's self (PR=1.66, 95% CI: 1.26-2.19), and having heard of HIV/AIDS (PR=1.36, 95% CI: 1.03-1.80) after adjusting for demographic and street life variables.


CONCLUSIONS
We found high rates of sex exchange among a sample of street children in Lahore, Pakistan. The finding that children who have heard about HIV/AIDS are more likely to exchange sex suggests that children at HIV risk talk about HIV, but accuracy of their conversations is unclear. Street children in Pakistan are in great need of HIV education and safe alternatives for generating income.
Towe
Vivian L
VL
Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA. vtowe@jhsph.edu
ul Hasan
Salman
S
Zafar
S Tariq
ST
Sherman
Susan G
SG
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003625:Data Collection; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000635:transmission; D018453:Homeless Youth; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010154:Pakistan; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D055815:Young Adult