Awareness of AIDS among transsexual prostitutes in Singapore

A study was conducted on 100 Singapore transsexual prostitutes in an attempt to discover AIDS awareness and any precautions which might have been taken by the prostitutes to limit their exposure to the AIDS virus. The results are as follows: the age, race and educational levels of the transsexuals were recorded. 55% of the transsexuals were Chinese, 36% were Malay, and 9% were Indian. The age range of the transsexuals was 20-55; the mean age of the Chinese transsexuals was 30.9; Malay was 33.1; and Indian was 27.0. 46% of the Chinese transsexuals, 64% of the Malay and 77% of the Indian had received only Primary education or were uneducated. 50% of the Chinese, 30% of the Malay and 23% of the Indians had received Secondary education. 4% of the Chinese and 6% of the Malay had received Post Secondary education. When asked, "Have you heard of AIDS?" 67% of the Chinese, 48% of the Malay and 44% of the Indians replied in the affirmative. When asked, "Has knowledge of AIDS altered your sexual practice?" 67% of the Chinese, 48% of the Malays and 44% of the Indians answered in the affirmative. Safe sex methods reported were: use of condoms, avoidance of Caucasians, checking of genitalia, non-penetration, and cleaning after the act.