Sexual Behavior of Clients of Commercial Sex Workers, Implications for Hiv/Aids Intervention Programs

HIV/AIDS is a multidimensional issue and cannot be confined to medical science alone. It is a problem of socio-economic conditions of humans and human behavior. It has necessitated an increased understanding of the sexual behavior of the human population that put the humans to risky behavior, human attitude towards sex etc in order to make proper prediction about the progression of the disease and to help program managers to design effective control programs. After many years of the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in the country, the policymakers and program managers have come to a conclusion that the clients of the sex workers are the core group which spreads the disease from the commercial sex workers to the general population through unprotected sexual contact with the high-risk groups. There are many risk behaviors which make the clients vulnerable to HIV. It is essential to understand their perceptions, attitudes and sexual behaviors to help in drawing suitable intervention programs to change the behavior. This has enormous potential to slow down the epidemic in the region and to improve their lives and the lives of the sexual partners. The present research paper makes earnest efforts to understand the perceptions, attitudes and sexual behavior of the clients who approach the commercial sex workers for sexual gratification and the implications it has for HIV/AIDS intervention programmes.