Federal government websites often end in. The site is secure. Preview improvements coming to the PMC website in October Learn More or Try it out now. Male sex work in the western countries has changed, including now a subculture of male sex workers who have paid sex with men arranged for via the internet. The men involved in this subculture do not easily identify themselves as sex workers nor as homosexual, and are therefore missed by regular health care and public health interventions.
These male sex workers may form a hidden key population for sexually transmitted infections STIs and HIV, bridging towards other persons outside this context. In this study we compare the consultations in male sex workers to those in in female sex workers and MSM. Demographic characteristics and sexual behaviour of the male sex workers, female sex workers and MSM were compared using chi-square tests and non-parametric tests. Using univariate and multivariate regression analyses, determinants for STI positivity in male sex workers were evaluated.
Male sex workers were a young population of migrant sex workers from Eastern Europe. They reported more often to also have sex contacts with women and other sex workers.
Male sex workers are at a higher risk for one or more new STI than female sex workers and other MSM, even after correction for age, ethnicity, known HIV positivity and behavioural variables. They require specific targeted interventions. Although targeting male sex workers is labour intensive it is feasible and important to reduce STI transmission. Sex work has long been present in society. Over time the settings and circumstances change, creating new risks for sex workers and their clients.
Men who sell sex to men are a diverse population across countries [ 1 ]. In recent years the setting of male sex work in western countries has shifted towards a subculture of men having paid sexual contacts with men who they encounter via the internet [ 2 ]. These male sex workers are often home-based internet escorts who do not self-identify as homosexual nor refer to themselves as sex workers [ 3 ].
