Comparison of sex workers in Pakistan, by city (N=2694)*
| Cities (n, %) | ||||||||||||
| Faisalab (295, 11.1) | Hyderabad (321, 11.9) | Karachi (356, 13.0) | Lahore (388, 14.8) | Multan (372, 14.1) | Peshawar (436, 16.5) | Quetta (187, 5.6) | Sukkur (339, 13.0) | Total (2, 694) | p Value | |||
| Demographic | Age‡ | 15–19 | 78 (26.4) | 53 (16.5) | 97 (27.3) | 46 (11.9) | 78 (21.0) | 162 (37.2) | 54 (28.9) | 79 (23.3) | 647 (24.0) | <0.001 |
| 20–24 | 92 (31.2) | 104 (32.4) | 113 (31.7) | 136 (35.1) | 176 (47.3) | 124 (28.4) | 84 (44.9) | 146 (43.1) | 975 (36.2) | |||
| 25–29 | 90 (30.5) | 67 (20.9) | 80 (22.5) | 110 (28.4) | 86 (23.1) | 58 (13.3) | 32 (17.1) | 50 (14.8) | 573 (21.3) | |||
| 30+ | 35 (11.8) | 97 (30.2) | 66 (18.6) | 95 (24.5) | 31 (8.6) | 90 (20.6) | 16 (9.0) | 64 (18.9) | 496 (18.4) | |||
| Missing | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (0.3) | 0 (0.0) | 2 (0.5) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 3 (0.1) | |||
| Mean (SD) | 23.8 (5.7) | 25.7 (6.9) | 24.0 (6.3) | 25.6 (5.9) | 23.1 (4.4) | 23.6 (7.8) | 22.5 (4.9) | 23.8 (6.1) | 24.1 (6.3) | |||
| Median | 23 | 25 | 23 | 25 | 22 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 23 | |||
| Sexual debut§ | 9–13 | 111 (37.6) | 52 (16.2) | 140 (39.3) | 50 (12.9) | 60 (16.1) | 150 (34.4) | 48 (12.1) | 11 (3.2) | 589 (21.4) | <0.001 | |
| 14–16 | 154 (52.2) | 135 (42.1) | 128 (34.0) | 188 (48.5) | 178 (47.9) | 204 (46.8) | 15 (8.0) | 149 (44.0) | 1209 (21.9) | |||
| 17+ | 26 (8.8) | 114 (35.5) | 62 (17.4) | 148 (38.1) | 128 (34.4) | 74 (17.0) | 73 (39.0) | 172 (50.7) | 786 (29.2) | |||
| Missing | 4 (1.4) | 20 (6.2) | 26 (7.3) | 2 (0.5) | 6 (1.6) | 8 (1.8) | 37 (19.8) | 7 (2.1) | 110 (4.1) | |||
| Mean (SD) | 14.1 (1.9) | 16.1 (2.8) | 14.1 (2.9) | 16.2 (3.2) | 15.6 (2.3) | 14.5 (2.5) | 16.2 (2.4) | 16.8 (2.2) | 15.4 (2.7) | |||
| Median | 14 | 15 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 17 | 15 | |||
| Total income (Pakistani rupees)‡ | <2000 | 4 (1.4) | 31 (9.7) | 17 (4.8) | 12 (3.1) | 49 (13.2) | 58 (13.3) | 3 (1.6) | 40 (11.8) | 214 (7.9) | <0.001 | |
| 2000–3999 | 119 (40.3) | 86 (26.8) | 60 (16.9) | 158 (40.7) | 153 (41.1) | 148 (33.9) | 21 (11.2) | 77 (22.7) | 822 (30.5) | |||
| 4000–4999 | 50 (17.0) | 16 (5.0) | 26 (7.3) | 82 (21.1) | 54 (14.5) | 20 (4.6) | 13 (7.0) | 21 (6.2) | 282 (10.5) | |||
| 5000+ | 48 (16.3) | 42 (13.1) | 77 (21.6) | 72 (18.6) | 38 (10.2) | 40 (9.2) | 12 (6.4) | 76 (22.4) | 405 (15.0) | |||
| Missing | 74 (25.1) | 146 (45.5) | 176 (49.4) | 64 (16.5) | 78 (21.0) | 170 (39.0) | 138 (73.8) | 125 (36.9) | 971 (36.0) | |||
| Mean (SD) | 3759.8 (1534.8) | 3505.2 (2476.3) | 5128.1 (4017.6) | 4166.5 (4184.5) | 3124.5 (1435.9) | 3135.0 (2397.4) | 4057.1 (2109.0) | 5584.7 (6410.0) | 3983.8 (3613.7) | |||
| Median | 3500 | 3000 | 4000 | 3500 | 3000 | 3000 | 4000 | 3000 | 3000 | |||
| Sex-work-derived income (Pakistani rupees)‡ | <2000 | 26 (8.8) | NA | NA | 113 (28.3) | 76 (19.0) | 214 (35.8) | 16 (4.0) | NA | 445 (21.3) | <0.001 | |
| 2000–3999 | 108 (36.6) | NA | NA | 166 (41.5) | 135 (33.8) | 148 (24.8) | 64 (16.2) | NA | 621 (29.7) | |||
| 4000–4999 | 21 (7.1) | NA | NA | 57 (14.3) | 81 (20.3) | 72 (12.0) | 33 (8.3) | NA | 264 (12.6) | |||
| 5000+ | 92 (31.2) | NA | NA | 45 (11.3) | 98 (24.5) | 106 (17.7) | 122 (30.8) | NA | 463 (22.2) | |||
| Missing | 48 (16.3) | NA | NA | 19 (4.8) | 10 (2.5) | 58 (9.7) | 161 (40.7) | NA | 296 (14.2) | |||
| Mean (SD) | 4378.1 (3214.6) | -- | -- | 2953.8 (2408.1) | 3785.2 (2188.2) | 2851.8 (2417.2) | 5528.1 (3358.7) | -- | 3578.9 (2725.2) | |||
| Median | 3500 | -- | -- | 2500 | 3600 | 2000 | 5000 | -- | 3000 | |||
| Education | Uneducated | 85 (28.8) | 169 (52.7) | 145 (40.7) | 217 (55.9) | 130 (35.0) | 216 (49.5) | 28 (15.0) | 112 (33.0) | 1102 (40.9) | ||
| Never graduated | 209 (70.9) | 140 (43.6) | 204 (57.3) | 161 (41.5) | 239 (64.3) | 214 (49.1) | 150 (80.2) | 207 (61.1) | 1524 (56.6) | |||
| Graduated | 1 (0.3) | 11 (3.4) | 3 (0.8) | 10 (2.6) | 3 (0.8) | 6 (1.4) | 4 (2.1) | 3 (0.9) | 41 (1.5) | |||
| Missing | 0 (0.0) | 1 (0.3) | 4 (1.1) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 5 (2.7) | 17 (5.0) | 27 (1.0) | |||
| Marital status¶ | Currently married | 29 (9.8) | 23 (7.2) | 20 (5.6) | 77 (19.9) | 78 (21.0) | 108 (24.8) | 10 (5.4) | 54 (15.9) | 390 (15.0) | <0.001 | |
| Missing | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 4 (2.1) | 0 (0.0) | 4 (0.2) | |||
| Sex-work-Related | Sex-work duration‡ | 2 years or less | 41 (13.9) | 36 (11.2) | 65 (18.3) | 44 (11.3) | 52 (14.0) | 114 (26.2) | 55 (29.4) | 96 (28.3) | 503 (18.7) | <0.001 |
| 3–5 years | 95 (32.2) | 78 (24.3) | 99 (27.8) | 98 (25.3) | 112 (30.1) | 116 (26.6) | 66 (35.3) | 109 (32.2) | 773 (28.7) | |||
| 6+ years | 158 (53.6) | 195 (60.8) | 190 (53.4) | 246 (63.4) | 205 (55.1) | 204 (46.8) | 53 (28.3) | 133 (39.2) | 1384 (51.4) | |||
| Missing | 1 (0.3) | 12 (3.7) | 2 (0.6) | 0 (0.0) | 3 (0.8) | 2 (0.5) | 13 (7.0) | 1 (0.3) | 34 (1.3) | |||
| Mean (SD) | 7.4 (5.0) | 9.7 (6.5) | 8.0 (6.3) | 8.3 (5.5) | 6.5 (4.0) | 7.5 (6.5) | 5.4 (6.2) | 6.5 (6.0) | 7.5 (5.9) | |||
| Median | 6 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 6 | |||
| Sex-worker type¶ | Hijra sex worker | 104 (35.3) | 174 (54.2) | 159 (44.7) | 190 (49.0) | 180 (48.4) | 114 (26.2) | 65 (34.8) | 176 (51.9) | 1162 (43.3) | <0.001 | |
| Male sex worker | 191 (64.8) | 147 (45.8) | 197 (55.3) | 198 (51.0) | 192 (51.6) | 322 (73.9) | 122 (65.2) | 163 (48.1) | 1532 (56.9) | |||
| Anal sex clients in last month (paying)‡ | <10 | 73 (24.8) | 25 (7.8) | 121 (34.0) | 170 (43.8) | 24 (6.5) | 148 (33.9) | 71 (38.0) | 11 (3.2) | 643 (23.9) | <0.001 | |
| 10–19 | 134 (45.4) | 8 (2.5) | 79 (22.2) | 154 (39.7) | 175 (47.0) | 128 (29.4) | 13 (7.0) | 8 (2.4) | 699 (26.0) | |||
| 20–29 | 73 (24.8) | 29 (9.0) | 42 (11.8) | 48 (12.4) | 134 (36.0) | 108 (24.8) | 25 (13.4) | 16 (4.7) | 475 (17.6) | |||
| 30+ | 15 (5.1) | 259 (80.7) | 114 (32.0) | 16 (4.1) | 39 (10.5) | 52 (11.9) | 78 (41.7) | 304 (89.7) | 877 (32.6) | |||
| Mean (SD) | 15.1 (8.6) | 58.0 (35.0) | 26.3 (35.8) | 11.4 (8.0) | 19.4 (8.2) | 16.5 (22.4) | 30.7 (30.8) | 69.2 (50.5) | 29.9 (34.9) | |||
| Median | 13 | 60 | 15 | 10 | 19 | 15 | 25 | 60 | 20 | |||
| Anal sex partners in last month (non-paying)‡ | 0–1 | 28 (16.0) | 28 (51.9) | 41 (29.3) | 35 (30.0) | 50 (30.1) | 36 (17.8) | 8 (14.6) | 35 (31.8) | 261 (25.6) | <0.001 | |
| 2–4 | 134 (76.6) | 15 (27.8) | 57 (40.7) | 77 (65.3) | 113 (68.1) | 90 (44.6) | 41 (75.6) | 48 (43.6) | 575 (56.4) | |||
| 5 or more | 13 (7.4) | 11 (20.4) | 42 (30.0) | 6 (5.1) | 3 (1.8) | 76 (37.6) | 6 (10.9) | 27 (24.6) | 184 (18.0) | |||
| Mean (SD) | 5.1 (14.6) | 13.4 (28.4) | 4.3 (4.5) | 2.1 (1.2) | 3.0 (10.5) | 10.0 (21.1) | 2.7 (1.5) | 6.9 (18.8) | 5.7 (15.2) | |||
| Median | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | |||
| Client contact¶ | Pimp/guru | 2 (0.7) | 11 (3.4) | 3 (0.8) | 3 (0.8) | 8 (2.2) | 16 (3.7) | 3 (1.6) | 15 (4.4) | 61 (2.3) | <0.001 | |
| Roaming | 18 (6.1) | 133 (41.4) | 161 (45.2) | 119 (30.7) | 61 (16.4) | 290 (66.5) | 33 (17.7) | 183 (54.0) | 998 (37.1) | |||
| Old clients | 21 (7.1) | 19 (5.9) | 60 (16.9) | 10 (2.6) | 8 (2.2) | 14 (3.2) | 9 (4.8) | 70 (20.7) | 211 (7.8) | |||
| Other | 62 (21.4) | 158 (49.2) | 132 (37.1) | 58 (15.0) | 102 (27.5) | 74 (17.0) | 15 (8.0) | 71 (21.0) | 673 (25.0) | |||
| Missing | 191 (64.8) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 198 (51.0) | 193 (51.9) | 42 (9.6) | 127 (67.9) | 0 (0.0) | 751 (27.9) | |||
| Risk behaviour | Condom use at last anal sex¶ | 68 (23.1) | 56 (17.5) | 77 (21.6) | 73 (18.8) | 68 (18.3) | 68 (15.6) | 83 (44.4) | 85 (25.1) | 578 (21.5) | <0.001 | |
| Missing | 38 (12.9) | 30 (9.4) | 19 (5.3) | 13 (3.4) | 5 (1.3) | 6 (1.4) | 43 (23.0) | 8 (2.4) | 275 (8.2) | |||
| Alcohol/charas¶ | 193 (65.4) | 140 (43.6) | 189 (53.1) | 163 (42.0) | 176 (47.3) | 176 (40.4) | 30 (16.0) | 149 (44.0) | 1216 (45.1) | <0.001 | ||
| Missing | 1 (0.3) | 1 (0.3) | 3 (1.1) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 4 (0.9) | 5 (2.7) | 1 (0.3) | 16 (0.6) | |||
| Injection drugs (6 months)¶ | 10 (3.4) | 30 (9.4) | 12 (3.4) | 19 (4.9) | 14 (3.8) | 22 (5.1) | 15 (8.0) | 21 (6.2) | 143 (5.3) | <0.01 | ||
| Missing | 4 (1.4) | 5 (1.6) | 11 (3.1) | 2 (0.5) | 3 (0.8) | 0 (0.0) | 4 (2.1) | 2 (0.6) | 31 (1.2) | |||
| Sex with injection drug user (6 months)¶ | 12 (4.1) | 48 (15.0) | 16 (4.5) | 56 (14.4) | 21 (5.7) | 44 (10.1) | 15 (8.0) | 31 (9.1) | 243 (9.0) | <0.001 | ||
| Missing | 39 (13.2) | 8 (2.5) | 18 (5.1) | 2 (0.5) | 4 (1.1) | 8 (1.8) | 12 (6.4) | 7 (2.1) | 98 (3.6) | |||
| Sold blood (6 months)¶ | 2 (0.7) | 20 (6.2) | 17 (4.8) | 5 (1.3) | 18 (4.8) | 8 (1.8) | 11 (5.9) | 15 (445) | 96 (3.6) | <0.001 | ||
| Missing | 1 (0.3) | 2 (0.6) | 5 (1.4) | 1 (0.3) | 2 (0.5) | 0 (0.0) | 2 (1.1) | 3 (0.9) | 16 (0.6) | |||
| HIV/STI knowledge | Heard of HIV¶ | 216 (73.2) | 180 (56.1) | 298 (83.7) | 224 (57.7) | 188 (50.5) | 416 (95.4) | 132 (70.6) | 211 (62.2) | 1865 (69.2) | <0.001 | |
| Condoms protect against HIV | 60 (20.3) | 104 (32.4) | 146 (41.0) | 124 (32.0) | 61 (16.4) | 186 (42.7) | 94 (50.3) | 143 (42.2) | 918 (34.1) | <0.001 | ||
| Knowledge of STIs¶ | 178 (60.3) | 141 (43.9) | 245 (68.8) | 210 (54.1) | 152 (40.9) | 302 (69.3) | 117 (62.6) | 139 (41.0) | 1484 (55.1) | <0.001 | ||
| Had an STI (6 months)¶ | 3 (1.0) | 12 (3.7) | 49 (13.8) | 10 (2.6) | 35 (9.4) | 62 (14.2) | 8 (4.3) | 8 (2.4) | 187 (6.9) | <0.001 | ||
| HIV-positive† | 1 (0.3) | 1 (0.2) | 10 (2.5) | 1 (0.3) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (0.2) | 1 (0.3) | 3 (0.9) | 18 (0.5) | <0.001 | ||
Italics indicates that the line contains missing variables.
↵* Frequency of missing responses are reported for those variables with responses missing; column totals include missing responses. Statistical testing excluded missing responses.
↵† HIV prevalence includes entire sample (Faisalabad, Karachi, Lahore and Multan: n=400; Hyderabad: n=402; Peshawar: n=598; Quetta: n=396; Sukkur: n=354).
↵‡ Based on the Kruskal–Wallis test.
↵§ Based on ANOVA.
↵¶ Based on the χ2 test.