Health Risks
The rate of HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections are may be relatively high in some countries which are popular destinations for female sex tourism, particularly in comparison to the home countries of many sex tourists. Little or no research has been done into the transmission rates of HIV and other STDs pertaining to sex tourism. Neither has there been reliable research done into whether or not condom use is prevalent among female sex tourists. However, writer Julie Bindel speculates, in an article for the Guardian, that HIV infection figures for the region suggest that condom use by the "beach boys" in the Caribbean may be sporadic, yet female sex tourists do not appear especially preoccupied by the potential risks.
Women seeking to experience sex with foreign men put themselves at a higher risk for STIs. Condom use during sex tours is relatively low. It is often cited that women have the intention to have safe sex with their casual sex partners while on vacation, but at some point during the initiation of the condom, the women do not follow through.
The sex workers usually will not initiate the use of a condom due to the either the limited availability of condoms, cost, beliefs or previous experiences the sex worker has with condoms.
The lack of barrier contraceptives increases the risk of the tourist obtaining a sexually transmitted infection from their foreign partner especially when their partner has been with multiple women.
With sex tourism, women report that, given the atmosphere and the exoticness of their lover; condoms are rarely used or discussed prior to engaging in sexual activities.
It has been found that in the Monteverde region of Costa Rica data researched by Nancy Romero Daza, has shown that female tourists in the region engage in some form of unprotected sexual activity with local men known as Gringueros. The women in the study were found to not be traditional sex tourists but situational sex tourists.
Read more about this topic: Female Sex Tourism
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