View/save PDF version of this document - La Strada International

discourage the mobilization of interventions, and existing care
and support services are already overwhelmed by persons ill
from AIDS. By 2010, an estimated 165,000 people will be in
need of STI-related health services, and the government is
ill-equipped to contribute its necessary support. 127
Most significantly, the unrestrained new sex industry in Nepal
may prove to be a great opportunity for the spread of the
virus. The combination of drunkenness and sex promoted by
the entertainment industry may shatter the present statistics
on condom use: more than one quarter of sex workers in the
entertainment industry say that their clients refuse to use
condoms when they are drunk. 128 Sex workers place clients’
refusal to wear condoms in the top five of their list of ‘worst
problems’ (the risk of contracting HIV/AIDS is at the top of
their list). 129
The present police aggression against entertainment workers
is another factor in increased HIV transmission. The girls and
women routinely report that the police harass them or arrest
them if they find a condom in their possession. 130 As the sex
industry grows, global evidence suggests that drug use among
its workers will grow. The rate of HIV infection among IDUs
is approximately one third. It is also likely that the great
proportion of married men among the customers of the sex
industry will increase the transmission of HIV/AIDS to their
wives and newborn children.
Frequent abortions
In 2002, Nepal liberalized its abortion laws, allowing women
to receive abortions by their own choice up to 12 weeks of
pregnancy, or up to 18 weeks of pregnancy if a victim of rape.
This resulted in a rapid decrease in illegal and unsafe abortions
and, in a country with one of the highest maternal mortality
rates in the world, has significantly reduced the number of
post-abortion complications reported in government hospitals. 131
The legal revision ended the imprisonment of numerous
women for abortion, and made Nepal one of the models for
effective legislation on the issue. Under the new legislation,
women may seek abortion without permission of male members
of the family, are protected from forced abortion by the
requirement of signed voluntary consent, and are ensured
confidentiality regarding the proceedings. This prevents further
victimization of rape or incest victims, including sex workers
who are forcefully involved in sex work and become pregnant.
Nepal’s revised legislation is both a benefit and a challenge to
the workers in the entertainment industry. Reports indicate
that as many as one third to one half of active sex workers
in the entertainment industry get an abortion every 3 or 4
months with extremely serious consequences on their health. 132
Today, abortion is comparatively inexpensive, from NPR 1,000
to 2,000, and readily available from both government and nongovernment
service providers. 133 2010 Terre des hommes www.tdh.ch 57