The objective of this study is to verify the behavior of prostitutes concerning preventing sexually transmitted diseases and AIDS, as well as to investigate how they protect themselves from these diseases. This is an exploratory research using a qualitative approach, carried out at the Association of Prostitutes in Ceará, Brazil, in September of 2008 through a questionnaire completed by 25 prostitutes. The data was analyzed through content analysis after being grouped into four categories: knowledge about sexually transmitted diseases/AIDS; living experience with the disease(s); preventing sexually transmitted diseases/AIDS; and drug use. It was concluded that the prostitutes do not use condoms in all their sexual relations, so sexually transmitted diseases represent a reality; that misinformation about the disease is remarkable; and that the consumption of licit and illicit drugs is common among them, a factor that exposes the most vulnerable situations related to HIV/AIDS.
Woman; Prostitution; Sexually transmitted diseases; Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome