Nov 02, 2007Quickie Link: Sex Workers Play Russian Roulette With HIV
By vanrozenheim
(Pakistan) - Shujaat plies his trade well. As dusk falls on the Pir Wadhai bus station in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi, the slender 19-year-old gauges disembarking passengers for that ‘look’ – a responsive glance or wink suggesting a desire for more than just a quick bus ride home. “Here you can find all sorts; mostly truckers, soldiers, day labourers, and of course married men,” he said, leaning against the wall. “I always find someone,” the now veteran male sex worker (MSW) boasted. After three years on the streets, Shujaat’s confidence is dwarfed only by his ambivalence towards contracting HIV – a virus that he and other men who have sex with men (MSM) are increasingly at risk of.
