106 HIV cases in March due to paid sex : HARP

According to the Department of Health’s (DOH) March 2018 HIV/AIDS Registry of the Philippines (HARP), of the 912 HIV cases reported last March, 106 were attributed to transactional sex, 101 (95 percent) of which were males whose age ranged from 17 to 69 years old. (PNA photo)

MANILA — More than 100 individuals who were found positive for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) last March had engaged in transactional sex.

According to the Department of Health’s (DOH) March 2018 HIV/AIDS Registry of the Philippines (HARP), of the 912 HIV cases reported last March, 106 were attributed to transactional sex, 101 (95 percent) of which were males whose age ranged from 17 to 69 years old.

Of the 101 males, 60 were reported to have paid for sex, while 26 accepted payment for sex, while 15 engaged in both.

The five females who engaged in transactional sex were aged 20 to 35 years.

Four of them were reported to have accepted payment and one caught the deadly disease by paying for sex.

The March 2018 figures bring to 355 the number of HIV cases acquired through transactional sex in the first quarter of the year.

Since December 2012, the DOH listed a total of 4,959 HIV cases that were acquired through paid sex.

People who engage in transactional or paid sex are those who reported that they either pay for sex, regularly accept payment for sex, or do both.