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Access to HIV Services for Mobile and Migrant Populations in Antigua

Access to HIV Services for Mobile and Migrant Populations in Antigua

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Focus Group Responses<br />

1- What are some of the challenges you face be<strong>in</strong>g a CSW <strong>in</strong> <strong>Antigua</strong>?<br />

The participants compla<strong>in</strong>ed about stigma <strong>and</strong> discrim<strong>in</strong>ation. Some said that<br />

people would call them “whore” even when they were <strong>in</strong> their non-work<strong>in</strong>g<br />

environments. For example, one participant stated that when she was <strong>in</strong> Shouls<br />

Toys Gifts <strong>and</strong> Housewares S<strong>to</strong>re on Newgate Street <strong>and</strong> she was buy<strong>in</strong>g 2 books<br />

<strong>and</strong> some pens <strong>to</strong> write down how many client she sees, when she heard a woman<br />

say <strong>to</strong> another, “she ah wan whore, so why she buy<strong>in</strong>g school book”? They then<br />

laughed <strong>and</strong> she felt very uncom<strong>for</strong>table but stayed on the l<strong>in</strong>e until she was<br />

f<strong>in</strong>ished her purchase. Then another participant added, “Is not only whore they<br />

say, one call me bitch because her boyfriend comes <strong>to</strong> Wendy’s”. Others<br />

compla<strong>in</strong>ed of also be<strong>in</strong>g called “bitch” <strong>and</strong> one said she was called “dutty foot”.<br />

Other clients compla<strong>in</strong> that some of the men steal back the money that they paid<br />

them <strong>for</strong> sex.<br />

2- What are some of the issues related <strong>to</strong> health care?<br />

Only one of the participants said she had no issues related <strong>to</strong> health care as she<br />

has seen a physician here <strong>and</strong> was com<strong>for</strong>table. One of the others stated that she<br />

did not like doc<strong>to</strong>rs because they asked personal questions which she did not want<br />

<strong>to</strong> answer. Her situation was that she thought she had a sexually transmitted<br />

<strong>in</strong>fection <strong>and</strong> wanted the doc<strong>to</strong>r <strong>to</strong> just give her a prescription, but <strong>in</strong>stead of just<br />

writ<strong>in</strong>g it, he kept ask<strong>in</strong>g questions about the number of partners she had, whether<br />

she engaged <strong>in</strong> unprotected sex or not <strong>and</strong> she thought the questions were <strong>to</strong>o<br />

personal. We expla<strong>in</strong>ed <strong>to</strong> her that was the correct way <strong>for</strong> the doc<strong>to</strong>r <strong>to</strong> do the<br />

job, but she said she already knew what she had so she didn’t need him <strong>to</strong> “dig”,<br />

just <strong>to</strong> give her the antibiotic prescription. Upon further exploration, we<br />

discovered, it was not the questions he asked alone that made her upset, but his<br />

seem<strong>in</strong>gly impersonal manner that did not show any care <strong>for</strong> her as a person. All<br />

of the others said they have never been <strong>to</strong> any doc<strong>to</strong>rs <strong>in</strong> <strong>Antigua</strong> as they could<br />

not af<strong>for</strong>d the $150.00 cost <strong>and</strong> they preferred <strong>to</strong> wait until they went back home<br />

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