Given the increasing recognition of the contribution of structural-level factors (e.g. gendered economic and social power imbalances) on both HIV and gender-based violence (GBV) among women, and thereby, the need for interventions that aim to alter such structures within communities, I have developed the proposed training to provide an opportunity for me to expand my work on the intersection of GBV and HIV by: 1) developing new skills related to structural-level interventions that specifically focus on economic promotion among women, and 2) enhancing my expertise related to the implementation and rigorous evaluation of structural interventions to address these issues. Notably, developing new skills and receiving training in methodologies (e.g. evaluation, measurement) related to structural-level interventions that specifically focus on economic promotion among women will provide me with a unique skill set possessed by only a handful of researchers in the field, particularly among researchers focusing on both GBV and HIV. The training aims will be accomplished through a combination of formal and/or informal coursework in economic development strategies and measures, structural interventions, and rigorous evaluation methodologies, as well as practical experience in the implementation and evaluation of a structural intervention. The proposed research aims to pilot a multi-strategy structural intervention combining community mobilization to promote gender equity alongside an economic intervention (microfinance and business training) in order to reduce gender-based violence and HIV risk among female sex workers (FSW) in Tijuana, Mexico. The program will be called ESTIMA: Empowerment of Sex workers to Increase Social and Economic Mobility. The evaluation will employ a randomized controlled design, recruiting FSW (n=120, 60 in each arm) who will be randomized to: 1) ESTIMA (gender equity/community mobilization program and economic intervention) or 2) a wait-list control group. For this preliminary work, at 12 months follow-up, w hypothesize that compared to control participants, intervention participants will have: 1) significantly greater economic security (e.g. decreased debt, increased income, decreased number of sex trades) and 2) significantly greater perceived collective power (i.e. collective efficacy) to address gendered power imbalances within social structures and the community. The long-term goal of this program, upon future refinement and large scale implementation, is to reduce HIV risk behaviors, STI/HIV, GBV, and ultimately, alleviate a multitude of health burdens among women. Furthermore, we expect that such work will highlight the need for HIV prevention initiatives in Mexico, and elsewhere, to more broadly consider women's 'life contexts' - addressing economic and social burdens in women's lives, to reduce the burden of poverty, gender, and HIV, as well as the intersection of these among women.

Public Health Relevance

The proposed research aims to pilot a multi-strategy structural intervention combining community mobilization to promote gender equity alongside an economic intervention (microfinance and business training) in order to reduce gender-based violence and HIV risk among female sex workers (FSW) in Tijuana, Mexico. Testing a combined program, for the first time among FSW, could have global implications, particularly in developing regions where poverty, gender inequity, and HIV converge. Furthermore, the proposed training on economic interventions will allow the candidate to obtain a unique combination of skills possessed by only a handful of researchers in the field globally, particularly among researchers focusing on both GBV and HIV.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Research Scientist Development Award - Research & Training (K01)
Project #
5K01MH099969-04
Application #
9297374
Study Section
Behavioral and Social Consequences of HIV/AIDS Study Section (BSCH)
Program Officer
Senn, Theresa Elaine
Project Start
2016-08-01
Project End
2018-11-30
Budget Start
2017-08-01
Budget End
2018-11-30
Support Year
4
Fiscal Year
2017
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
San Diego State University
Department
Public Health & Prev Medicine
Type
Graduate Schools
DUNS #
073371346
City
San Diego
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
92182
Reed, Elizabeth; Fisher, Celia B; Blankenship, Kim M et al. (2017) Why female sex workers participate in HIV research: the illusion of voluntariness. AIDS Care 29:914-918
Shakya, Holly B; Fariss, Christopher J; Ojeda, Christopher et al. (2017) Social Network Clustering of Sexual Violence Experienced by Adolescent Girls. Am J Epidemiol 186:796-804
Reed, Elizabeth; Erausquin, Jennifer Toller; Biradavolu, Monica et al. (2017) Non-barrier contraceptive use and relation to condom use behaviour by partner type among female sex workers in Andhra Pradesh, India. J Fam Plann Reprod Health Care 43:60-66
Raj, Anita; Ghule, Mohan; Ritter, Julie et al. (2016) Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial Evaluation of a Gender Equity and Family Planning Intervention for Married Men and Couples in Rural India. PLoS One 11:e0153190
Reed, Elizabeth; Saggurti, Niranjan; Donta, Balaiah et al. (2016) Intimate partner violence among married couples in India and contraceptive use reported by women but not husbands. Int J Gynaecol Obstet 133:22-5
Reed, Elizabeth; Donta, Balaiah; Dasgupta, Anindita et al. (2016) Access to Money and Relation to Women's Use of Family Planning Methods Among Young Married Women in Rural India. Matern Child Health J 20:1203-10
Reed, Elizabeth; Erausquin, J T; Groves, Allison K et al. (2016) Client-perpetrated and husband-perpetrated violence among female sex workers in Andhra Pradesh, India: HIV/STI risk across personal and work contexts. Sex Transm Infect 92:424-9
Erausquin, Jennifer Toller; Reed, Elizabeth; Blankenship, Kim M (2015) Change over Time in Police Interactions and HIV Risk Behavior Among Female Sex Workers in Andhra Pradesh, India. AIDS Behav 19:1108-15
Gaines, Tommi L; Urada, Lianne A; Martinez, Gustavo et al. (2015) Short-term cessation of sex work and injection drug use: evidence from a recurrent event survival analysis. Addict Behav 45:63-9
Reed, Elizabeth; Donta, Balaiah; Dasgupta, Anindita et al. (2015) Household Debt and Relation to Intimate Partner Violence and Husbands' Attitudes Toward Gender Norms: A Study Among Young Married Couples in Rural Maharashtra, India. Public Health Rep 130:664-71

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