Key findings
- Male and female sex workers attending sexual health clinics tended to be slightly older than non-sex workers and were more likely to live in an urban area. Female sex workers were less likely to be of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander background and more likely than non-sex workers to be born overseas.
- Uptake and frequency of sexual health screening was high among both male and female sex workers, with frequency of full screen (i.e., test for chlamydia, gonorrhoea, infectious syphilis, and, among HIV negative patients, HIV) increasing over time.
- Overall, incidence of infection among sex workers was similar to incidence among non-sex workers.
- The incidence of HIV was similar among sex worker and non-sex worker gay and bisexual men and stable over time.
- The incidence of anogenital chlamydia increased among female sex workers from 2007 to 2015. The incidence of anogenital chlamydia also increased among male sex workers but was similar to the general clinic population of gay and bisexual men not reporting sex work.
