DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum U.S. Will Pay $2.6 Million to Train Chinese Prostitutes To Drink

(CNSNews.com) -- The National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAA), a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), will pay $2.6 million in U.S. tax dollars to train Chinese prostitutes to drink responsibly on the job.

Dr. Xiaoming Li, the researcher conducting the program, is director of the Prevention Research Center at Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit.

The grant, made last November, refers to prostitutes as "female sex workers"--or FSW--and their handlers as "gatekeepers."

"Previous studies in Asia and Africa and our own data from FSWs [female sex workers] in China suggest that the social norms and institutional policy within commercial sex venues as well as agents overseeing the FSWs (i.e., the 'gatekeepers', defined as persons who manage the establishments and/or sex workers) are potentially of great importance in influencing alcohol use and sexual behavior among establishment-based FSWs," says the NIH grant abstract submitted by Dr. Li.

"Therefore, in this application, we propose to develop, implement, and evaluate a venue-based alcohol use and HIV risk reduction intervention focusing on both environmental and individual factors among venue-based FSWs in China," says the abstract.

The research will take place in the southern Chinese province of Guangxi.

Guangxi is ranked third in HIV rate among Chna's provinces--and is a place where the sex business is pervasive, Li said.

“The purpose of the project is to try and develop an intervention program targeting HIV risk and alcohol use,” Li told CNSNews.com. “So basically, it’s an alcohol and HIV risk reduction intervention project."

The researcher outlined three components of the intervention program in the abstract for the project:

“(1) gatekeeper training with a focus on changing or enhancing the protective social norms and policy/practice at the establishment level; (2) FSW (female sex workers) training with a focus on the acquisition of communication skills (negotiating, limit setting) and behavioral skills (e.g., condom use skills, consistent condom use); and (3) semi-annual boosters to reinforce both social norms within establishments and individual skills,” wrote Li.

The doctor said the heart of the study involves “a community-based cluster randomized controlled trial among 100 commercial sex venues in Beihai, a costal tourist city in Guangxi.”

"We anticipate that the venue-based intervention program will be culturally appropriate, feasible, effective and sustainable in alcohol use and sexual risk reduction among FSWs," says the NIH grant abstract.

Li said his study is being done in China rather than the U.S. because prostitution occurs with alcohol use in the United States like it does in China, Americans will be able to benefit from the project’s findings.

“We want to get some understanding of the fundamental role of alcohol use and HIV risk,” he said. “We use the population in China as our targeted population to look at the basic issues. I think the findings will benefit the American people, too.”

Li said minimal research has been conducted on the link between alcohol use and prostitution as it relates to HIV.

“Alcohol has been a part of the commerce of sex for many, many years. Unfortunately, both global-wise (and) in the United States, very few researchers are looking at the complex issue of the inter play between alcohol and the commerce of sex,” he told CNSNews.com.

The grant is one of several “international initiatives” sponsored by the National Institutes of Health.

Ralph Hingson, director of epidemiology and prevention research at NIAA, told CNSNews.com, “There are many Americans who travel to China each year and they should be made aware of the HIV problem.”

Hingson said that Americans will be able to apply the studies findings to the American situation because 1.2 million Americans are currently living with HIV.

Li’s research includes exploration, development, implementation and evaluation. Currently, the project stands at the exploration stage, which the doctor expects to last 18 months.

“The first phase is kind of an exploratory study just trying to get a good understanding of the phenomena in the population of female sex workers in China. The second phase is the program development,” the professor told CNSNews.com.

Phase two will be based on the first year of the study and on “field observations,” he added. The third phase will be the implementation and evaluation of the program.

“Prostitution is illegal in China but it exists in China," Li told CNSNews.com, “but the Chinese government and the society’s attitude towards prostitution is complicated.”

According to Li, there may be as many as 10 million female prostitutes in China with the majority raging from teenagers to those in their 20s.

“We see a lot of governmental initiatives in China, like 100 percent condom distribution promotion programs, so they deliver condoms in those (prostitution) venues," he added.

“The global literature indicates an important role of alcohol use in facilitating HIV/AIDS transmission risk in commercial sex venues where elevated alcohol use/abuse and sexual risk behaviors frequently co-occur,” Li wrote when introducing the project last November.

"We expect that the intervention will improve protective normative beliefs and institutional support regarding alcohol use and HIV protection,” he added.

The NIH proposal hypothesizes that the program will decrease "problem drinking and alcohol-related sexual risk" among prostitutes that participate.

"We hypothesize that the venue-based intervention will change and enhance the protective social norms and institutional policies at the establishment level and such enhancement, accompanied by individual skill training among FSWs, will demonstrate a sustainable effect within commercial sex establishments in decreasing problem drinking and alcohol-related sexual risk, increasing consistent and correct condom use, and reducing rates of HIV/STD infection among FSWs," says the NIH abstract.

http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=47976

Really???

Stupid waste of tax dollars.. Give that money to me, give me 2 months and I'll figure out a way to put 20 people to work and keep them employed for a long period of time and with good pay and benefits.. instead, some freakin idiot wants to spend it on this...

Totallty wasteful..... IDIOTS..

Give that money to me,along with 20 or so of those sex workers.In one year I can report back with "yes,they drank alot."

Exactly.

If a US prostitute costs $100, and a Chinese prostitute costs $10, what do you expect. (Even if the Chinese prostitutes aren't as well made.)

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Give that money to me,along with 20 or so of those sex workers.In one year I can report back with "yes,they drank alot."

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$2.6 MILLION!!!!

Things like this make me want to see an itemized sheet detailing where all the money goes. That is a large amount of money and I don't see how it could cost so much to study this.

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condom use skills

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What the hell are condom use skills. I wouldn't call condom use a skill. It doesn't really take a whole lot of practice to learn how condoms are supposed to work. Their are thousands of grade-schoolers acrossed this country that can figure it out---it really ain't that difficult.

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What the hell are condom use skills. I wouldn't call condom use a skill. It doesn't really take a whole lot of practice to learn how condoms are supposed to work. Their are thousands of grade-schoolers acrossed this country that can figure it out---it really ain't that difficult.

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And yet teenaged boys can't figure out how to use them, which is why they're getting their girlfriends pregnant (referring to the fact of course that the teenage pregnancy rate is up in the country).

Sounds like she should be on Springer!

Seriously though, I think we all know of someone in that situation. It can be pretty sad at times.

Honestly, the whole family should be on Springer. The second oldest has been in trouble with the law - even got to spend time in a juvie detention center in columbus - 6 months. (and yes, I believe there a parenting skills that are lacking)

A girl I know (basically I've said hi to her and that's it) from the town next to me got pregnant from one of two boys in my class. In 7th grade. No one knows which one of them it was, since she had an abortion, which really makes you unpopular around here.

so arch, what are your Final Thoughts?

I always got a kick out of Springer's sombre, reflective end-of-show philosophizing, after the entire show had been a circus... or however you want to define a typical Springer show... I'm not even sure there's a strong enough word for it.

I'm surprised a right-wing propaganda site like CNS news would make public such a politically-miserable decision put in place under the Bush administration.

I don't think spending what is, let's face it, a drop in our budget's bucket towards AIDS prevention in China is a dumb thing to do, I just don't know how effective this particular implementation will be.

How about this is an attempt to control spread of HIV???

Just a thought. Thought it was obvious but I guess not.

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And yet teenaged boys can't figure out how to use them, which is why they're getting their girlfriends pregnant (referring to the fact of course that the teenage pregnancy rate is up in the country).

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This reminds me of a situation that just occurred where I work. We employ a few high-school aged kids who work bussing tables and doing some menial kitchen tasks. Well, one of them, a 16 year old girl, was acting really ditracted one day. Always either txting on her phone or else hiding in the bathroom (which is where she goes to avoid working---sometimes we have counted her going to the bathroom over 20 times in a 5 hour shift.). ANd though she is usually like this; this particular day, she just didn't seem like herself. Really preoccupied

At any rate, at some point in the day I asked her what the dilly was---and she told me that she was nervous. And then went on to tell me that she had lost her virginity over the weekend and was scared she might be pregnant (It was kind of shocking that she blurted this all out---but then again, it was obvious that she really neeeded to get this off her chest. It was really eating up the poor girl.). I was a little shocked to get all this info---and just to settle her down I asked if she used a condom or birth-control, or what-have-you, to hopefully calm her anxiety. She said that she thinks that they used a condom BUT WASN'T SURE. Then she showed me a txt she got from her B-friend who tried to ease her worries by telling her "that [he] pulled out."

At this point I was sitting there with a mixture of disappointment and disbelief going on in my mind. Don't kids take sex ed. anymore? How is it that this girl could be 16 years old and not understand the ramifications involved with unprotected sex. I thought that this stuff was drilled into kids heads---I know that it was when I was growing up.

It was really an awkward kind of moment for me, seeing as though she is a 16 year old girl, and I am in my mid twenties. I told her that she needed to talk to an older sister, or cousin, or aunt, or her mom for god's sake. I just felt that it wasn't my place to give her any advise other than who to talk to, and the availability of contraceptives to prevent this kind of thing.

I told her that she may want to talk to her mom and think about birth-control or condoms in the future---and her response was, "ewww, I don't wanna think about that."

So the girl wants to start having sex---but doesn't want to think about consequences, protection, precaution.

This whole situation was so mixed up to me. It was sad and really eye-opening as to the thought processes---or lack thereof that go through the teenaged mind.

You will be happy to know that this was several weeks ago and the young lady had a long talk with her aunt, found out she is NOT pregnant---and hopefully learned that there is a great deal of responsibility that comes with a sex life.

Kids these days.

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I'm surprised a right-wing propaganda site like CNS news would make public such a politically-miserable decision put in place under the Bush administration.

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Two things....

And this link did not address either it just pandered to the Bush Bashers as it tried to criticize those that bash Obama....Great link there clevesteve

1. Who voted this legislation in???.....A Democrat Controlled Congress.
2. Who put this stupid legislation into the bill???....Never addressed by anyone....but that is who we should be crucifying.

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I'm surprised a right-wing propaganda site like CNS news would make public such a politically-miserable decision put in place under the Bush administration.

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It's such a small amount, I don't know if any adminstration would have caught that...

But it doesn't matter whose admin it happened under,, it's still a stupid idea and a waste...

If you really want to lay blame. Find out who put the item on whatever bill it was passed on. This is nitpicking.

I hope you guys were up in arms when the Bush administration lost 12 billion dollars in cash, in Iraq. Or how about when he made the aircraft carrier (forget which one it was, Carl Vincent???) stay off shore for another day so he could have a press moment and land on a carrier. "Mission Accomplished" my #$$. That cost way more then 2.4 mill.

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If you really want to lay blame. Find out who put the item on whatever bill it was passed on. This is nitpicking.

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OMG!!! The sky is falling!!!!, the sky is falling!!!! Run....Run and hide!!!! the END is NEAR!!!!!





Paco and I agree on something......

No they havent been perfect. But Atleast they arent breaking laws and over stepping congressional powers.

And you are right, there are republicans I like and dems that I hate... Pelosi being the main one. There are bad seeds on both sides. I mainly look at who is out there just trying to make a name for themselves (Bobby Jindel LA) and who is out there trying to do good (Webb VA).

Here's a thought---

Instead of wasting money overseas on a study (where the culture is different and won't necessarily work here) why not just legalize and regulate it?

It would provide jobs and more tax money would be put into the coffers.....and it is ridiculous that it is illegal in the first place. Two adults (or more as the case may be) negotiating a provided service for a fee. Isn't that the free enterprise system??

Don't worry folks I sent in my application for the job. I will teach them to drink responsibly