PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV
Treatment, Care & Support
Stigma and Discrimination
Sex workers are “female, male and transgender adults and young people who receive money or goods in exchange for sexual services, either regularly or occasionally”.
There has been little research done on sex workers in Malaysia, and sex workers exist underground due to a prohibitive legal environment as well as stigma and discrimination within the society. Sex work venues range from the streets to entertainment establishments such as fitness clubs and hairdressing salons.
Many people who exchange sex for money or goods do not self identify as sex workers, and neither do they seek nor have access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support advice or services for sex workers.
MEN WHO HAVE SEX WITH MEN (MSM)
"Whether ‘officially’ recognised or not, sex between men occurs in all societies and between men of all ages. This is as true in the Asia and Pacific region as it is in all parts of the world. Being bold by speaking openly about subjects and behaviours that may be taboo is often necessary for an effective response to AIDS."
Men who Have Sex with Men (MSM) is an inclusive public health term to describe male persons who engage in sexual activities with members of the same sex, irrespective of their sexual identity. Due to a strict and prohibitive socio-cultural and legal environment, male-to-male sexual practices are often misunderstood and highly stigmatised, thus creating barriers for MSM to access HIV prevention, treatment, care and support services.
Some 173,000 MSM are estimated to be living in Malaysia, with an HIV prevalence of 7%. As the trend of sexual (hetero, or homo/bisexual) transmission of HIV in Malaysia continues to be on the rise, pragmatic evidence-informed responses to reduce the risk of and vulnerabilities associated with HIV infection amongst MSM call for aggressive scale-up.
PEOPLE WHO INJECT DRUGS (PWID)
The rapid spread of HIV in Malaysia has been attributed to unsafe injecting practices, chiefly the use and sharing of contaminated drug injecting equipment among people who inject drugs.
Estimates show that there are about 170,000 people who inject drugs in the country, with an HIV prevalence of 22.1%. They are predominantly male, young, of Malay ethnicity and heterosexual. Female drug users remain a minority in this key affected population (2%).