1. Decision-Making at the Intersection of Risk and Pleasure: A Qualitative Inquiry with Trans Women Engaged in Sex Work in Lima, Peru
- Author
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Naz-McLean, Sarah, Clark, Jesse L, Reisner, Sari L, Prenner, Joshua C, Weintraub, Brendan, Huerta, Leyla, Salazar, Ximena, Lama, Javier R, Mayer, Kenneth H, and Perez-Brumer, Amaya
- Subjects
Public Health ,Health Sciences ,Clinical Research ,Violence Against Women ,Pediatric AIDS ,HIV/AIDS ,Violence Research ,Behavioral and Social Science ,Prevention ,Pediatric ,Infectious Diseases ,Prevention of disease and conditions ,and promotion of well-being ,3.1 Primary prevention interventions to modify behaviours or promote wellbeing ,Infection ,Good Health and Well Being ,Gender Equality ,Female ,HIV Infections ,Humans ,Peru ,Pleasure ,Sex Work ,Sexual Behavior ,Transgender Persons ,Transgender ,Sex work ,Public Health and Health Services ,Social Work ,Public health - Abstract
To inform culturally relevant HIV prevention interventions, we explore the complexity of sex work among Peruvian transgender women. In 2015, we conducted twenty in-depth interviews and demographic surveys with transgender women in Lima, Peru to examine how transgender women enact individual- and community-level resistance strategies within a context of pervasive marginalization. Although 40% self-identified as "sex workers," 70% recently exchanged sex for money. Participants described nuanced risk-benefit analyses surrounding paid sexual encounters. Classification of clients as "risky" or "rewarding" incorporated issues of health, violence, and pleasure. Interviews highlighted context-informed decision-making (rejecting disrespectful clients, asserting condom use with specific partner types) demonstrating that motivations were not limited to HIV prevention or economic renumeration, but considered safety, health, attraction, gender validation, hygiene, and convenience. These findings underscore the complex risk assessments employed by Peruvian trans women. These individual-level decision-making and context-specific health promotion strategies represent critical frameworks for HIV prevention efforts.
- Published
- 2022