More than 400 Filipinos were diagnosed with HIV in the first quarter of the year due to engaging in transactional sex, according to a report from the Department of Health (DOH).
The DOH’s HIV and AIDS surveillance report revealed that 404 cases, or 12% of the newly diagnosed HIV cases, involved transactional sex. Of these, 194 individuals paid for sex, including 192 males and two females, while 129 patients, mostly men, accepted money for sex.
Additionally, 81 individuals were involved in both paying for and receiving money for sex. Since December 2012, the DOH has recorded 14,219 HIV cases linked to transactional sex.