Chinese prostitutes as young as 15 suffering high STD and abortion rates, study reveals
Prostitutes in a remote province of China – some of them as young as 15 – are suffering from high rates of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), unplanned pregnancy and prevalent abortions, a study by an award-winning researcher has found.
The study was based on interviews with 310 prostitutes, aged 15 to 20 years old, in Kunming, capital city of the southwestern province of Yunnan.
Two thirds of the women and girls said they had experienced STD-related symptoms in the past year. Some 44 per cent had undergone abortions according to the research, reported Southern Weekly.
The survey helped lead researcher Zhang Xudong win the Women, Girls and HIV Investigator’s Prize at the Aids 2014 conference in Melbourne, Australia which concluded last week, for “excellence in research that addresses girls related to HIV/Aids”.
The study found that the prostitutes lacked proper sexual health-related knowledge. Some 70 per cent of those polled were unable to answer most questions about sexual health asked by researchers.
