Grant: Project Grant - PA: HIV/AIDS and STBBI Multi-Year Grant

Venezuelan migrants who engage in sex work (VSW) face unique biosocial stressors that render them in urgent need of tailored HIV and STBBI prevention and care services; yet this population remains understudied. Over 6 million Venezuelans have been displaced due to ongoing political turmoil and resulting humanitarian crises; over 1 million live in Peru. This has strained Peru's healthcare system and reshaped its HIV epidemic. Venezuelan migrants face intersecting forms of socio-structural disadvantage that negatively impact their health-precarious employment, xenophobia and material deprivation. These systemic inequities can lead to engagement in sex work, particularly for women, girls and sexual and gender minorities. There is urgent need to assess the unique interactions between disease and social conditions that both place adult VSW at risk for HIV/STBBIs and limit their resulting care engagement. To fill this gap, we will apply Syndemic theory to assess heightened risk of HIV/STBBIs acquisition, and lower care engagement, among VSW. This three-year mixed-methods study will: 1) Explore synergistic migration and sex-work related vulnerabilities and HIV/STBBI needs via focus groups (n=6) and interviews (n=60) ; 2) Characterize the prevalence and distribution of HIV/STBBI (chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, HPV) (N=300); and 3) Translate findings into intersectoral action via iterative stakeholder consultations (n=10) and a 1-day stakeholder engagement workshop (n=20). Dr. Perez-Brumer, an early career scholar, will lead Proyecto RADIANTE along with a multidisciplinary team that has >10 years of intensive collaborations including 6 jointly funded grants and >50 co-authored papers. This study will leverage existing relationships with community organizations that support sex workers, the UNAIDS Regional Office, and the Migration Observatory at the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia to inform and address HIV/STBBIs prevention and care efforts for Venezuelan migrants.