Clients and brothel managers in Kramat Tunggak, Jakarta, Indonesia: interweaving qualitative with quantitative studies for planning STD/AIDS prevention programs.

ABSTRACT

Clients and brothel managers are often the most powerful decision-makers regarding condom use in brothels, but since publicly promoting condom use is still "culturally" difficult in Indonesia, the most feasible way of reaching clients is through the female commercial sex workers (FCSWs) and their managers. The existence of quasi-official brothel complexes in many major Indonesian cities, however, does make the government a key player in promoting condom use within these complexes. Interweaving qualitative with quantitative studies, this paper, which is part of a larger study, reveals the FCSWs' client/managers-related determinants of condom use. Policies that will promote condom use in brothel complexes are critical to the prevention of the spread of HIV throughout this community, as well as from it to the greater community.