Sign up to The Irish Times Archive (1859 - 2008)My Account »

SEX WORKERS in Dublin are becoming less visible because of the use of the internet and mobile phones, a study has found. And almost 80 per cent of drug-using sex workers who took part in the study had Hepatitis C.

Drug Use, Sex Work and the Risk Environment in Dublin, produced by the National Advisory Committee on Drugs, examined the experiences of 35 drug users who are or had been involved in the sex industry. The average age of the 31 women and four men surveyed was 29. Some 88 per cent were on methadone and other drugs including heroin and benzodiazepines. And 78 per cent had Hepatitis C, a blood-borne virus which affects the liver. A fifth were HIV positive.