Länderberichte U.S.A.:

[Marc of Frankfurt]

U.S. Ban on HIV-Positive Travelers Eliminated


by Audacia Ray on October 30, 2009

http://blog.iwhc.org/2009/10/u-s-travel ... liminated/

[Marc of Frankfurt]

Providence, Rhode Island beschließt bisher geduldete Indoor-Prostitution auch zu kriminalisieren wie etwa Straßenprostitution

Full House OKs ban on indoor prostitution



http://www.projo.com/generalassembly/HO ... 407aa.html





1. Leserbrief von der Sexarbeiterin

Youcouldnttellfrommlookingatme

• One of the "yes' voters is a client of mine!!
  
  If law makers want to make the public more safe:
  -Require "escorts" to get a license with the requirement that they produce a clear bill of health from SDTs.
  -re-up on the STD screening every 3 months to keep the lic valid.
  -Escort has to register with her local police dept in the city where she'll be working.
  [Das ist schnell hingesagt aber nicht sehr überlegt -> Gesundheit vs. Zwangsuntersuchungs-Debatte]
  
  I work in this industry, and I think there should be health regulations, to keep everybody healthy.
  Making it illegal just puts EVERYONE more at risk. The "CL killer" was a example of this. That guy was robbing escorts for a LONG time, all over MA and Albany before he escalated to murder. We knew his description and his MO, I had been warned about him as far back as summer 08.
  Because of the legal issue, the escorts he robbed COULD NOT rely on the police.
  
  I myself found this out when I first started in this industry, doing "body rubs": When a client I'd seen a few times, threatened me... If I didn't give him "full service" for free (non consent=rape) he would call the police and get me arrested.
  I was so naive, I actually called the police myself to get their protection, and was shocked when they arrested me. Nothing happened to the client though.
  
  Now that RI is going the same way, what pimp/offical do I pay a kickback to, so I can stay out of jail?
  I'm a full time student, steadily reaching goals since beginning escort work. As long as women have a dream for a better life, and men wear pants, there will be "pay for play", period.
  
  It's funny because when I first started, I only did the "body rubs" because I felt I was being more respectful of the law. I went "full service" and made twice as much money after I realized I was being pursued like a criminal anyway.
  
  This Rhode Island law was no "loop hole".
  Law makers purposefully made it that way to clean up the streets.
  Many Rhode Islanders know, being unique is an asset.
  This little state is kick *ss, and if you're one of those RIers who lives in the shadow of Boston, etc. you need to get grow a pair.
  
  Now that "pay of play" is illegal, we can look forward to less than discreet street walkers making a return, actively plying their trade in parks, etc. right in front of your kids on their way to school.
  
  Nice job law makers.

Filmdoku:
viewtopic.php?p=68502#68502





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[Snickerman]

Ich rege mich schon seit vielen Jahren über die miese Doppelmoral und die Prüderie der amerikanischen Gesellschaft auf,
aber dieser Leserbrief zeigte mir, dass es ja NOCH schlimmer ist als ich befürchtet hatte!
SW, die in andauernder Angst leben müssen, dass sie bedroht werden und bei Widerstand auch noch verhaftet werden-
das erinnert bestimmt nicht nur mich an ganz, ganz finstere Zeiten in diesem unseren Lande:
"Ich bin am Ort das größte Schwein..."
Und es ist nicht etwa die Vernunft, sondern die Dummheit, die wächst und gedeiht!

PFUI, USA!!
Mit so einem Land, dass so auf menschenrechten herumtrampelt, sollte man eigentlich gar nicht verkehren!!!
(auch wenn das natürlich praktisch unmöglich ist...)

Und das unter der Herrschaft des von mir herbeigesehnten Obama...

[Marc of Frankfurt]

Update zum Fall Jeane Palfrey Case

Die verstorbene Washington D.C. Madam


Der Escortagenturbetreiberin im Zentrum der Macht, wo sich der bigotte Leiter von US-AID hat 'massieren' lassen, während seine Behörde damals nur Hilfsgelder an Projekte gewährte, die sich gegen Prostitution aussprechen. Dann kam Ms. Palfrey ins Untersuchungsgefängnis, es kam zum Prozess. Kurze Zeit später wurde sie in ihrem Haus ermordet aufgefunden. Sexworker zweifeln am Selbstmord, während eine Untersuchungskommission keine Hinweise für Mord fand.

http://sexworker.at/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=14792#14792





Jetzt wurde in einem Nachfolge-Prozess entschieden: der US Staat muß aus dem bei ihr beschlagnahmten Vermögen an die gemeinnüztige Stiftung www.innocenceProject.org eine 'Wiedergutmachtungszahlung' in Höhe von $89,000 übertragen.

http://www.legitgov.org/palfrey_partial ... 91109.html





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[Marc of Frankfurt]

Bordellbetreiber trifft Escortlady und Agenturchefin und Pornostar

Brothel Owner meets Escort and Madam meets Porn Star




v.l.n.r.:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Hof

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heidi_Fleiss

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Jeremy





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[nina777]

15.1.2010

Verdeckte Ermittler bekämpfen Prostitution in Florida

Die Stadt Pensacola im US-Bundesstaat Florida hat ein großes Problem: vor allem in den Problembezirken der Stadt kommt es vermehrt zu Prostitution, obwohl dies in Florida streng verboten ist.

Viele Frauen bieten ihre Dienste schon ab 20 Dollar an, um Geld für Drogen beschaffen zu können. Auf offener Straße sprechen inzwischen viele Frauen Männer an, um an neue Freier zu kommen. Nachdem sich immer mehr Anwohner darüber beschwert haben, ergriff der Sheriff drastische Maßnahmen.

Er setzt nun verstärkt verdeckte Ermittler ein, die Prostituierte stellen sollen. Spricht eine der Frauen einen verdeckten Ermittler an, wird sie festgenommen und muss für 30 Tage hinter Gitter. Umgekehrt werden auch Ermittlerinnen eingesetzt, um an potentielle Freier zu gelangen.

Wird eine Ermittlerin von einem Mann zum Sex gegen Bezahlung gefragt, eilen Beamte herbei, um den potentiellen „Täter“ zu überraschen. Auch wenn die Polizei eine Prostituierte mit einem Freier erwischt, drohen harte Strafen. Die Ehefrau des Überführten erhält daraufhin ein Schreiben der Polizei, in dem ausdrücklich erwähnt wird, dass der Ehemann die Dienste einer Prostituierten in Anspruch nehmen wollte. Offiziell heißt es, man wolle die Frauen der Männer über mögliche Krankheiten informieren, die übertragen werden können. In erster Linie geht es aber um Abschreckung. Eine Ehe wolle man allerdings nicht zerstören. Die fragwürdigen Methoden scheinen bei der Bevölkerung der Stadt jedoch gut anzukommen.

Video über die Arbeit der Polizei in Pensacola:

http://www.meinungsbildung.com/ausland/ ... orida/1372

[Lycisca]

An diesem Beispiel ist zu sehen, auf welches mittelalterliches Niveau ein Land herabsinken kann, wenn Menschenrechte nicht geachtet werden: In den USA gibt es kein Grundrecht auf Privatleben, wie in Europa (Europäische Menschenrechtskonvention) und die USA haben bei allen Menschenrechtskonventionen, denen sie beigetreten sind, ausdrücklich ausgeschlossen, dass daraus Rechte für US Bürger abgeleitet werden können oder gar US Bürger diese Rechte vor einem internationalem Gericht einklagen könnten. Ein fragiles Recht auf Privatleben gibt es nur rudimentär, indem der Supreme Court z.B. klassische Hausrechtsbestimmungen aus der Zeit der Magna Charta (also Mittelalter) weiter ausgelegt hat - was aber ein konservativer Gerichtshof jederzeit wieder rückgängig machen kann.

[Marc of Frankfurt]

Quelle

[Marc of Frankfurt]

Gegen Verurteilung von Sexworkern als "Sittlichkeitsverbrecher" und

gegen Veröffentlichung ihrer Fotos u Daten im Internet-Pranger der Behörden von New Orleans, U.S.A..


Unterschreibe diese Petition:

http://www.petitiononline.com/desiree1/petition.html





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[Zwerg]

Schieb.......

[Marc of Frankfurt]

Her Crime?

Sex Work in New Orleans


By Jordan Flaherty
http://www.colorlines.com/printerfriendly.php?ID=673

With police charging sex workers as sex offenders—the majority of them Black women—activists hope the city’s mayoral elections next month will pave the way for fighting the law.

January 13, 2010


Tabitha has been working as a prostitute in New Orleans since she was 13. Now 30 years old, she can often be found working on a corner just outside of the French Quarter. A small and slight white woman, she has battled both drug addiction and illness and struggles every day to find a meal or a place to stay for the night.

These days, Tabitha, who asked that her real name not be used in this story, has yet another burden: a stamp printed on her driver’s license labels her a sex offender. Her crime? Sex work.

New Orleans city police and the district attorney’s office are using a state law written for child molesters to charge hundreds of sex workers like Tabitha as sex offenders. The law, which dates back to 1805, makes it a crime against nature to engage in “unnatural copulation”—a term New Orleans cops and the district attorney’s office have interpreted to mean anal or oral sex. Sex workers convicted of breaking this law are charged with felonies, issued longer jail sentences and forced to register as sex offenders. They must also carry a driver’s license with the label “sex offender” printed on it.

Of the 861 sex offenders currently registered in New Orleans, 483 were convicted of a crime against nature, according to Doug Cain, a spokesperson with the Louisiana State Police. And of those convicted of a crime against nature, 78 percent are Black and almost all are women.

The law impacts sex workers in both small and large ways.

- Tabitha has to register an address in the sex offender database, and because she doesn’t have a permanent home, she has registered the address of a nonprofit organization that is helping her.
- She also has to purchase and mail postcards with her picture to everyone in the neighborhood informing them of her conviction. If she needs to evacuate to a shelter during a hurricane,
- she must evacuate to a special shelter for sex offenders, and this shelter has no separate safe spaces for women.
- She is even prohibited from very ordinary activities in New Orleans like wearing a costume at Mardi Gras.

“This law completely disconnects our community members from what remains of a social safety net,” said Deon Haywood, director of Women With A Vision, an organization that promotes wellness and disease prevention for women who live in poverty. Haywood’s group has formed a new coalition of New Orleans activists and health workers who are organizing to fight the way police are abusing the 1805 law.

Activists like Haywood believe that using the law in this way is part of an overall policy by the New Orleans Police Department to go after petty offenses. According to a report from the Metropolitan Crime Commission, New Orleans police arrest more than 58,000 people every year. Of those arrested, nearly 50 percent are for traffic and municipal offenses, and only 5 percent are for violent crimes.

“What this is really about is over-incarcerating poor and of-color communities,” said Rosana Cruz of VOTE-NOLA, a prison reform organization that is also a part of the new coalition.

Haywood, Cruz and other activists believe they have an opportunity with the mayoral and city council elections next month to change the system. With all of the candidates attempting to distance themselves from Mayor Nagin, who is prevented by term limits from running again, the new mayor is likely to be open to making changes. This includes hiring a new police chief, as all the candidates have pledged to do. Advocates are hoping this is an opportunity to shift the department’s focus. “When there's a new police chief, we can educate them,” said Haywood.

Many of the women Haywood’s group works with are at the most high-risk tier of sex work. They meet customers on the street and in bars, Haywood said. Most women are dealing with addiction and homelessness, and many cannot get food stamps or other public assistance because of felony convictions on their record.

“I’m hoping that the situation will look different because of this coalition,” Haywood said. “I can’t tell you how overwhelmed we’ve been from the needs of this population.”

Miss Jackie is one of those women. A Black woman in her 50s, she was arrested for sex work in 1999 and charged as a sex offender. Her real name, which she declined to give for this story, was added to the registry for 10 years. Miss Jackie says that when the registration period was almost over she was arrested for possession of crack. She says the arresting officer didn’t find any drugs on her person, but the judge ruled that she needed to continue to register as a sex offender for another 15 years (the new federal requirement for sex offenders) because her arrest was a violation of her registration period.

"Where is the justice?” she asked, speaking through tears. “How do they expect me to straighten out my life?” Struggling with basic needs like housing, Miss Jackie added: “I feel condemned."

Advocates and former defendants claim that the decision over who is charged under which penalty is made arbitrarily, at the discretion of police and the district attorney’s office, and that the law disproportionately affects Black people, as well as transgender women. When asked about the allegations of abusing the crime against nature statue, New Orleans Police Department spokesman Bob Young responded: “Persons are charged according to the crime they commit.”

Wendi Cooper’s story, however, paints a different picture.

In 1999, Cooper had recently come out as transgender. A Black transwoman, she tried prostitution a few times and quickly discovered it wasn’t for her. But before she quit, she was arrested. At the time, Cooper was happy to take a plea that allowed her to get out of jail and didn’t think much about what the “crime against nature” conviction would mean on her record. As she got older and began work as a healthcare professional, the weight of the sex offender label began to upset her more and more. “This is not me,” she said. “I’m not that person who the state labeled me as…it slanders me.”

Cooper appealed to the state to have her record expunged and talked to lawyers about other options, but she still must register for at least another five years and potentially longer. “I feel like I was manipulated, you know, pleading guilty to this crime…And it’s hard, knowing that you are called something that you’re not,” she said. She is also afraid now that the conviction will prevent her from getting her license as a registered nurse or from being hired.

Although some women have tried to fight the sex offender charges in court, they’ve had little success. The penalties they face became even harsher in 2006 when Congress passed the Adam Walsh act, requiring tier-1 (the least serious) sex offenders to stay in the public registry for 15 years. There’s also an added danger to fighting the charges, according to Josh Perry, a former attorney with the Orleans Public Defenders office.

“The way Louisiana’s habitual offender law works, if you challenge your sentence in court and lose, and it’s a third offense, the mandatory minimum is 20 years. The maximum is life,” he explained.

Perry estimates that on an average day two or three people are arrested for prostitution in New Orleans, and about half of them are charged under the crime against nature statute. “Right now, there are 39 people being held at Orleans Parish Prison [for] crimes against nature,” Perry told a gathering of advocates last August. “And another 15 to 20 people…charged with failure to register as a sex offender.”

Sex workers accused as sex offenders face discrimination in every aspect of the system. In most cases, they cannot get released on bond, because they are seen as a higher risk of flight than people charged with violent crimes. “This is the level of stigma and dysfunction that we’re talking about here,” said Perry. “Realistically, they’re not getting out.”

Advocates have said the ideal solution would be to get state lawmakers to change the law, but they feel there’s little hope of positive reforms from the current legislature. For now, organizers want to put pressure on police and the district attorney’s office to stop charging sex workers under the crime against nature statute.

There is a great deal of work that needs to be done. Haywood is working with lawyers and national allies to develop a legal strategy, as well as a broad local coalition that includes criminal justice reform organizations like VOTE-NOLA and activist groups like the New Orleans chapters of Critical Resistance and INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence.

“We’re trying to organize, but we’re also working on the human rights side of how it’s affecting their lives,” she said. “This is a population that works in crisis mode all the time.”

Jennifer, a 23-year-old white woman who asked that her real name not be used in this story, has been working as a prostitute since she was a teenager, and also works as a stripper at a club on Bourbon Street. She recently broke free of an eight-year heroin addiction. [tolle positive Nachricht] Unless the law changes, she will have the words “sex offender” on her driver’s license until she is 48 years old.

Haywood said that stories like this show that the law has the effect of forcing women to continue with sex work. “When you charge young women with this—when you label them as a sex offender—this is what they are for the rest of their lives,” she said.

Jennifer said it’s affected her job options. “I’m not sure what they think, but a lot of places wont hire sex offenders,” she said.

Haywood said the women she sees have few options. Many of them are homeless. They are sleeping in abandoned houses or on the street, or they are trading sex for a place to stay. “The women we work with, they don't call it sex work,” she said. “They don't know what that means. They don’t even call it prostitution. They call it survival.”


Jordan Flaherty is a journalist, an editor of Left Turn Magazine, and a staffer with the Louisiana Justice Institute. He was the first writer to bring the story of the Jena Six to a national audience and audiences around the world have seen the television reports he’s produced for Al-Jazeera, TeleSur, GritTV, and Democracy Now. His post-Katrina reporting for ColorLines shared an award from New America Media for best Katrina-related reporting in ethnic press. Haymarket Press will release his new book, FLOODLINES: Stories of Community and Resistance from Katrina to the Jena Six, in 2010. He can be reached at neworleans at leftturn.org.





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[Marc of Frankfurt]

Sexworker, die in die Politik gehen wollen




Kirsten Davis


Die Madam vom wg. eines Callgirl-Skandals zurückgetretenen Governeur Spitzer kandidiert als New York (State) Governeur. Sie selbst, war damals wegen verbotener Prostitution/Bordellbetrieb verurteilt worden und kam ins Gefängnis zu all den männlichen Sexualverbrechern ...

Politisch tritt sie für Sexworker-Registrierungszwang und Zwangsuntersuchung etc. ein, um so Prostitution legalisieren und besteuern zu können ...

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and- ... -governor/

http://www.manhattanMadam.com/kristins_ ... or_in_2010





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[Marc of Frankfurt]

Werbeverbot Prostitution


Are Brothel Ads Protected By The First Amendment?

Not according to the supposedly liberal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.


The AP reports:

A federal appeals court on Thursday upheld a Nevada law that bars legal brothels that operate in some of the state’s rural areas from advertising by newspaper, leaflets and billboards in Las Vegas, Reno and other places where prostitution is illegal.

Prostitution is legal in most Nevada counties, but of course many state residents still oppose it. Their views, the court seemed to suggest, outweigh the right to free speech:

“The Nevada laws appropriately limited commercial speech,” the 9th Circuit said. “We conclude that the interest in preventing the commodification of sex is substantial.”

ACLU attorney Allen Lichtenstein says there’s an obvious weakness in the court’s reasoning:

It’s a violation of the First Amendment for the state to restrict advertising by a legal industry, and it’s wrong for a court to make exceptions because the state doesn’t want to have it advertised that legalized prostitution exists, Lichtenstein said.

http://www.alan.com/2010/03/12/are-brot ... amendment/





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[Marc of Frankfurt]

Der schwere Verteidigungskampf in den Medien:

The moral crusade on prostitution on TV in the US


Ex sex worker and author Tracy Quan
http://tracyquan.net
./.
Janice Crouse, Concerned Women of America
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/category/ ... ice-crouse

On MSNBC with David Shuster
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0BTx_ucjGE[/youtube]





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[Marc of Frankfurt]

Zugehörige on-line Umfrage:
http://msnbc.newsvine.com/_question/201 ... ostitution

Bitte abstimmen.

[Aoife]

Bitte abstimmen.

Das bisherige Ergebnis sieht ja richtig erfreulich aus
314 JA und 74 NEIN

Liebe Grüße, Aoife

[Arum]

Dieser Fernsehbericht zur Frage de möglichen Entkriminalisierung von P6 in den Staaten stattet einem Bordell in Austin, Texas einen Besuch ab:

http://www.kolotv.com/home/headlines/88 ... n=comments

Alles einwandfrei zum Vorteil der Prostitution dargestellt, würde man fast sagen, wäre da nicht die Uberleitung nach dem eigentlichen Filmbeitrag selber. Die hat's teilweise doch in sich... Darin nämlich bietet sich wieder eines der grossen Opferklischees an...

[Marc of Frankfurt]

Wie sich die Strafen wegen Prostitutionsverbot auf Frauen (rosa) und Männer (blau) aufteilen:


Ferner die Unterscheidung: Erwischt beim Kobern/Anbahnung (hell) und bei Prostitution/Sex (dunkel).


read more...


Dr. Elizabeth Pisani
Autorin von "Weisheit der Huren"
viewtopic.php?p=39864#39864





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[Aoife]

Warum in den USA Oralverkehr kein Sex ist

Hatte Bill Clinton Sex mit seiner Praktikantin Monica Lewinsky oder nicht? Darüber wurde 1998 lange und hitzig diskutiert. Amerikanische Wissenschaftler stellen jetzt fest, dass die Affäre wahrscheinlich die Wahrnehmung von Oralsex in der Gesellschaft verändert hat und sprechen von dem "Clinton-Lewinsky-Effekt".

Bei einer Umfrage der Universität Kentucky sollten Studenten angeben, ab welchem Punkt im Austausch von Zuwendungen sie sagen würden, sie hätten Geschlechtsverkehr. Elf verschiedene Verhalten sollten eingeordnet werden. Für fast alle 477 befragten Studenten (328 Frauen und 149 Männer) war Vaginalverkehr demnach „richtiger" Sex, knapp 80 Prozent fanden das auch bei Analverkehr.
Bei Oralverkehr sah das Ergebnis hingegen ganz anders aus: Nur noch 20 Prozent der Studenten bezeichneten diese Sexualpraktik als richtigen Sex. Bei ähnlichen Umfragen in den Jahren 1991 und 2001 waren es noch doppelt so viele gewesen. Die Einschätzungen seien unabhängig von Geschlecht, sozialem Hintergrund oder der sexuellen Erfahrung der Versuchsteilnehmer, schreibt Studienleiter Jason D. Hans.

Der Autor der Studie hat dazu mehrere Erklärungsansätze, warum sich die Wahrnehmung von Oralsex in der Gesellschaft verändert hat. Das könnte einerseits an der Allgegenwärtigkeit von Sex in den Medien liegen. Oder andererseits am „Clinton-Lewinsky-Effekt".
So haben die Forscher eine ihrer Thesen zur Erklärung des Phänomens getauft. Demnach sei die Wahrnehmung von Oralverkehr durch die Aussagen des früheren US-Präsidenten Bill Clinton maßgeblich beeinflusst worden. Dieser hatte 1998 unter Eides statt ausgesagt, er hätte keinen Sex mit Monica Lewinsky gehabt.
Auch bei einer weiteren Anhörung vor der Grand Jury bekräftigte Clinton, keinen Geschlechtsverkehr mit seiner Ex-Praktikantin gehabt zu haben. Schließlich sei er nicht aktiv gewesen. Geschlechtsverkehr war demnach für Clinton weder Oralsex noch Petting, sondern nur Vaginalverkehr.
Die ganze Affäre war damals in den Medien äußerst präsent und hatte wahrscheinlich einen Effekt auf die Studienteilnehmer, erklärte der Forscher. Diese seien während dieser Zeit sozialisiert worden. "Die dramatische und plötzliche Veränderung in der Einschätzung von genital-oralem Kontakt kann deshalb", schreibt Hans, "als Clinton-Lewinsky-Effekt bezeichnet werden."
Diese Entwicklung könnte negative Folgen für die Gesundheit haben, heißt in der Studie weiter. Denn auch durch Oralsex würden sexuelle Krankheiten übertragen werden.

Quelle: http://news.de.msn.com/panorama/panoram ... =153162480

[ehemaliger_User]

Am anderen Ende der Nahrungskette...

Eine Mitteilung der "Ney York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene"

HIV-Risiko durch ungeschützten Analverkehr bei Frauen

Kurzfassung: Mehr Frauen als Männer lassen sich ungeschützt anal penetrieren (61 % zu 23 %), wobei der Anteil der jungen Frauen höher ist.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Release # 016-10
Wednesday, April 21, 2010

MEDIA CONTACT: (212) 788-5290
Celina De Leon/Zoe Tobin: PressOffice@health.nyc.gov

Health Department Highlights Health Risks of Unprotected Anal Sex among Heterosexual Women in New York City

New survey suggests that women are less likely than men to use protection during anal intercourse

April 21, 2010 - Unprotected anal sex poses well known health hazards for men, but new research suggests that the practice is a significant health issue for women as well. More than 100,000 New York City women engage in anal intercourse each year, according to a new report from the Health Department, and many are not taking the steps needed to prevent HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.

Anal membranes are easily damaged during sex, facilitating the spread of infection. Past studies suggest that anal exposure to HIV poses 30 times more risk than vaginal exposure. But the New York City findings suggest that women are less likely than men who have sex with men to use condoms during anal sex. The figure is just 23%, according to the new report, compared to 61% among men who have sex with other men. The full report is available at nyc.gov/health.

"Tens of thousands of New Yorkers are engaging in sexual behavior that is especially risky," said Dr. Thomas Farley, New York City Health Commissioner. "Many people are aware of the risk of HIV when men have sex with other men, but this report shows that a large number of women also are putting themselves at high risk through unprotected anal sex. For both men and women, the overall message is clear: Never engage in unprotected anal sex. Use a condom every time."

Just as condoms are especially important for people who engage in anal intercourse, so is HIV testing. Yet the new report finds that women who engage in unprotected anal sex have lower testing rates than women who always use condoms during anal sex - 35% versus 63%, respectively. By the same token, women who had unprotected anal sex were the least likely to report that a health care provider had offered HIV testing during the past year. Only 11% of the highest-risk women (versus 47% of those using condoms) said a provider had recommended testing in the past year – even though 94% of them had seen one.

The report does not estimate the HIV burden among women who engage in unprotected anal sex, but most HIV infections diagnosed in women result from heterosexual intercourse. Among women with known sources of exposure, heterosexual contact accounted for 90% of the infections diagnosed in New York City in 2008.
Unprotected anal sex is most common among younger women and those with multiple partners

Women 18 to 24 years old are nearly six times more likely than those aged 45 to 64 to report unprotected anal sex (11% versus 2%). And whereas 15% of women with three or more sex partners reported engaging in anal sex in the past year, the figure was just 4% among those with one partner. Reports of anal sex in the past year are similar across race and ethnicity, with Asian women reporting 8%, white women 7%, Hispanic women 6% and black women 4%.
Recommendations for reducing sexually transmitted infections

The new report highlights the importance of safer sex in a city where approximately 74,000 new sexually transmitted infections are reported each year, along with 3,800 new HIV diagnoses. Some recommendations:

* Health care providers should offer STI and HIV testing to all patients, regardless of their stated sexual history.

* People engaging in anal sex should always use condoms. Free NYC Condoms and other alternative male condoms, in addition to female condoms and lubricant, are available at locations throughout New York City. Call 311 or visit nyc.gov/condoms for more information.

* Unless they’re in mutually monogamous relationships, people who have had unprotected sex should get tested for HIV and other STIs at least once a year. Free, confidential screening is available at Health Department clinics, no appointment required. Call 311 for clinic locations and hours of operation. Services are available to people 12 and older without parental notification and without regard to immigration or insurance status.

* If you have exposed any partners to a sexually transmitted infection (including HIV), it is important to tell them so they can be tested and treated if necessary. People who want help notifying partners, or who want to do so anonymously, can find assistance by calling 311 or visiting inSPOT NYC (www.inspot.org/Newyorkcity).