Thiruvananthapuram: A Kerala State Aids Control Society (KSACS) survey has sent shockwaves through this once conservative state by releasing data on the number of male and female sex workers. There are 17,000 female and 13,331 male sex workers. The number of migrant sex workers is also increasing.
The number of male sex workers who come from other states was also increasing. There are also male sex workers who go out of the state for sex trade. Most of the sex workers were those who migrate from villages to cities. The average age group of these sex workers was 36-46 years. They carry out their trade in hotels and flats in cities. Those who leave the job on getting old become agents, the survey concluded.
The peer group survey conducted by KSACS found that women are coming to the state from Bengal, Bihar and Odisha mostly claiming to be relatives of migrant labourers.
Perumbavoor has the highest percentage of these migrant sex workers. The survey also found that more women are coming from Bengal via agents. The authorities also cautioned against the outbreak of sexually transmitted diseases due to sex trade. The survey found that most numbers of male sex workers were from Kozhikode district. Over 10,000 sex workers were drug addicts.
There are four female sex workers and 11 male sex workers with HIV infection. Treatment is given to those who are tested positive for HIV.
The study found the HIV rate in the state was 0.13 per cent in 2008. It came down to 0.05% in 2018.
