AIDS/other STIs prevention in China: the effect of sex worker migration and the organization of the sex industry.

HIV/AIDS prevention projects that pay special attention to the socio-cultural context of a community have been implemented in a number of Asian and African countries recently. Such projects integrate scientific approaches, such as condom promotion, with cultural approaches that focus on regional social norms. This paper explores effective intervention strategies in the context of sex workers' mobility patterns, and the sex industry's internal organization in China. It argues that a social network based on quasi-familial relations and regional ties recruits young women into the business, helps them move vertically as well as horizontally within the business, and facilitates the smooth operation of the business. A sound understanding of the specific characteristics of sex work in China, therefore, is instrumental in formulating effective intervention tactics.