Socio-demographic characteristics of adolescent female sex workers aged 15–19 years enrolled in a cross-sectional survey in Yunnan, China (n=201)
| Characteristics by FSW workplace, n/N (%)† | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Variable | All women n/N (%)† | Lower-risk workplace‡ | Higher-risk workplace§ | p Value* |
| Age, mean years (SD) | 18.2 (1.0) | 18.1 (1.0) | 18.3 (1.0) | 0.86** |
| Education level | 0.29 | |||
| Illiterate or primary school | 59/201 (29.4) | 26/105 (24.8) | 33/96 (34.4) | |
| Middle school | 78/201 (38.8) | 42/105 (40.0) | 36/96 (37.5) | |
| High school | 64/201 (31.8) | 37/105 (35.2) | 27/96 (28.1) | |
| Current marital status | 0.94 | |||
| Never married or single | 144/201 (71.6) | 75/105 (71.4) | 69/96 (71.9) | |
| Married or cohabiting¶ | 57/201 (28.4) | 30/105 (28.6) | 27/96 (28.1) | |
| Residential status | 0.22 | |||
| Yunnan | 166/201 (82.6) | 90/105 (85.7) | 76/96 (79.2) | |
| Other province | 35/201 (17.4) | 15/105 (14.3) | 20/96 (20.8) | |
| Ethnicity | 0.71 | |||
| Han | 151/201 (75.1) | 80/105 (76.2) | 71/96 (74.0) | |
| Other ethnic group | 50/201 (24.9) | 25/105 (23.8) | 25/96 (26.0) | |
| Currently living with | 0.11 | |||
| Parents | 10/201 (5.0) | 3/105 (2.9) | 7/96 (7.3) | |
| Emotional partners | 69/201 (34.3) | 38/105 (36.2) | 31/96 (32.3) | |
| Friends | 67/201 (33.3) | 34/105 (32.4) | 33/96 (34.4) | |
| Alone | 51/201 (25.4) | 30/105 (28.5) | 21/96 (21.8) | |
| Coercion-based site with handlers | 4/201 (2.0) | 0 | 4/96 (4.2) | |
| Source of income†† | ||||
| Sex work is main source | 182/200 (91.0) | 102/104 (98.1) | 80/96 (83.3) | <0.001 |
| Other sources of income | ||||
| Parental/familial support | 30/201 (14.9) | 12/105 (11.4) | 18/96 (18.8) | 0.14 |
| Emotional partner's support | 29/201 (14.4) | 16/105 (15.2) | 13/96 (13.5) | 0.73 |
| Other sources of income | 18/201 (9.0) | 7/105 (6.7) | 11/96 (11.5) | 0.23 |
| Monthly income in past 6 months (in US$) | 0.018 | |||
| <150 | 18/201 (9.0) | 4/105 (3.8) | 14/96 (14.6) | |
| 150–500 | 114/201 (57.0) | 66/105 (62.9) | 48/96 (50.0) | |
| >500 | 69/201 (34.0) | 35/105 (33.3) | 34/96 (35.4) | |
| Amount received from last client, median US$ (IQR) | 80 (48–160) | 128 (80–160) | 48 (32–136) | <0.001*** |
| Age at first sexual intercourse, mean years (SD) | 16.3 (1.2) | 16.1 (1.1) | 16.4 (1.3) | 0.91** |
| Duration in sex work | 0.001 | |||
| ≤6 months | 107/201 (53.2) | 43/105 (41.0) | 64/96 (66.7) | |
| 7–12 months | 66/201 (33.8) | 45/105 (42.9) | 21/96 (21.9) | |
| >1 year | 28/201 (13.9) | 17/105 (16.1) | 11/96 (11.4) | |
*p Value comparing women working at higher-risk versus lower-risk places using χ2 test unless indicated.
†Unless otherwise indicated.
‡Workplaces at lower risk for adolescent FSWs. Division is based on previous research and interview of key informants within local context and includes VIP clubs, night clubs.
§Workplaces at higher risk for adolescent FSWs. Division is based on previous research and interview of key informants within local context and includes street walking, small roadside guesthouses with manager or pimp, foot massage parlours, saunas/bath rooms, barbershops, inns/hotels, karaoke clubs, dancing halls.
¶The minimum legal age for marriage is generally 20 for women 22 for men; in many rural areas, there is no restrictive social-cultural taboo for young people under the legal age of marriage to get engaged and cohabit without registration, so called ‘de facto marriage’; in this case, some participants (1%) self-reported to be married.
**Student's t test.
***Wilcoxon rank sum test.
††Multiple-response question.
FSW, female sex worker.