Grassroots sexual and reproductive rights interventions on sexual risk behavior among female sex workers in Nigeria

Abstract

Introduction: Sexual reproductive health and rights (SRHR) involve access to accurate information, rights-based quality, safe, effective, affordable, and acceptable health-care services at all levels that cover the sexual and reproductive needs of the individual and community irrespective of social, sex, gender, and other differences. Objective: This study aims at assessing the grassroots interventions on the knowledge of rights, access, and uptake of sexual reproductive health (SRH) services among female sex workers (FSWs) in Benue State, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional survey is a randomized cluster sampling among FSWs in Benue State, Nigeria. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from the respondents, and the data collected were analyzed using IBM-SPSS Corp., Armonk, NY, version 25.0. The statistical significance level was set at P 0.05). Virtually all respondents (96.0%) used any contraceptive methods in the intervention period compared with 68.6% at the baseline (P < 0.001). The intervention respondents were 11.84 (95% CI: 4.98–28.16; P < 0.0001) times more likely to use any contraceptive method than their baseline counterparts. The intervention respondents were 2.22 (95% CI: 1.51–3.27; P < 0.0001) times more likely to use emergency contraceptives than their baseline counterparts. Conclusion: This study showed the positive outcomes of grassroots interventions involving FSWs in Benue State, Nigeria. Such interventions should be extended to other key populations in Nigeria.

Keywords

• contraception
• grassroots intervention
• sex workers
• sexual behavior