Percentage of men aged 15-49 reporting sex with a sex worker in the last 12 months who used a condom during last paid sexual intercourse [disaggregated by age (15-19, 20-24, 25-49), population group (migrant workers, military, truck drivers, other)]

Export Indicator

Percentage of men aged 15-49 reporting sex with a sex worker in the last 12 months who used a condom during last paid intercourse, disaggregated by age (15-19, 20-24, 25-49) and population group (migrant workers, military, truck drivers, other).  
What it measures

This indicator measures self-reported condom use among male clients of sex workers.
 

Rationale
Numerator

Number of men aged 15-49 surveyed who report they used a condom the last time they had sexual intercourse with a sex worker.
 

Denominator

Number of men aged 15-49 surveyed who report that they had sexual intercourse with a sex worker (i.e., someone they paid in exchange for sex) in the last 12 months.
 

Calculation

Number of men aged 15-49 surveyed who report that they used a condom
the last time they had sexual intercourse with a sex worker
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- x 100
Number of men aged 15-49 surveyed who report that they had sexual intercourse
with a sex worker in the last 12 months

Method of measurement

The numerator is calculated as the number of men aged 15-49 who report that they used a condom the last time they had sexual intercourse with a sex worker. These data may be obtained from a population-based survey or from special surveys targeting potential clients of sex workers.
 
The denominator is calculated as the number of men who report that they paid someone in exchange for sex (i.e., had sexual intercourse with a sex worker) in the last 12 months. Those who reply yes are counted in the denominator.

Measurement frequency

Biennial

Disaggregation

Age group: 15 years - 19 years, 20 years - 24 years, 25 years - 49 years

Target: Uniformed services, Migrant workers, Truck drivers, Other

Explanation of the numerator
Explanation of the denominator
Strengths and weaknesses

For this indicator to be most useful, countries need to establish agreed upon definitions of what constitutes sex work (i.e., paying someone in exchange for sex). Once a country has established an agreed upon definition of sex work, it is unlikely to change significantly over time, and this indicator can then be used to track the success of programmes that promote condom use between sex workers and their clients.
 
This indicator provides a simple and robust measure of condom use during the last paid sexual intercourse with a sex worker, but it does not provide information about consistent condom use during paid sex. Programme managers may also want to consider survey data on whether clients of sex workers always use condoms, sometimes, or never during paid sex, since this provides essential information for the design of intervention strategies to increase condom use.
This indicator also does not provide detailed information about what type of sex worker a client had paid sex with in the last 12 months. In places where there are several distinct populations of sex workers (e.g., brothel-based, street-based, escort) with different perceived behavioural risks, data may need to be collected separately for each category of sex work in order to provide detailed information for prevention programming. For example, men may report high levels of condom use in brothels, but much lower levels with street-based sex workers.
 

Further information