Table 4.
Percent distribution of sexual history and sex work characteristics of FSW by region, Ghana 2020.
| Variables | Western | Central | Greater Accra | Volta | Eastern | Ashanti | Western North | Ahafo | Bono | Bono East | Oti | Northern | Savannah | North East | Upper East | Upper West | (n) | (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 750 | 630 | 1856 | 173 | 660 | 1,271 | 38 | 144 | 411 | 137 | 216 | 171 | 35 | 38 | 174 | 70 | 6,773 | ||
| Age first sold sex | ||||||||||||||||||
| Under 25 | 61.8 | 83.2 | 67.8 | 83.3 | 88.1 | 76.5 | 62 | 75.8 | 82.6 | 90.4 | 70.3 | 76.3 | 89.5 | 70.9 | 77.3 | 77.1 | 5,069 | 74.8 |
| 25 to 34 | 30 | 15.5 | 27.5 | 13.4 | 9.9 | 18.7 | 35.2 | 22.2 | 13.7 | 4.6 | 20.9 | 14.1 | 0 | 12.6 | 13.8 | 16.4 | 1,377 | 20.3 |
| 35 and above | 7.6 | 1.1 | 4.1 | 0.9 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 0.3 | 0 | 2.3 | 2.9 | 0.5 | 3.5 | 0 | 0 | 2.1 | 1.2 | 195 | 2.9 |
| Non-response | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 2.3 | 0.6 | 3.2 | 2.6 | 2.1 | 1.4 | 2.1 | 8.3 | 6 | 10.5 | 16.5 | 6.8 | 5.3 | 132 | 2.0 |
| Median age of first sold sex | 21 | 19 | 22 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 23 | 21 | 19 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 18 | 20 | 18 | 19 | 20 | |
| Average age – started sex work | 23.2 | 19.9 | 22.5 | 19.1 | 19.1 | 20.5 | 23.1 | 21.9 | 19.6 | 18.8 | 19.9 | 21.4 | 17.7 | 20.7 | 19.8 | 20.4 | 21.1 | |
| Reasons for entering sex work | ||||||||||||||||||
| Money for self/family | 85.9 | 87.8 | 85.1 | 91.6 | 79.6 | 87 | 90.6 | 68.7 | 85.5 | 90.5 | 73.6 | 92.9 | 64.6 | 77.8 | 78.4 | 89.4 | 5,743 | 84.8 |
| Forced/Pressured/Coerced | 2.9 | 2.9 | 3.9 | 3.1 | 1.2 | 2.1 | 9 | 9.5 | 2.8 | 2.8 | 4.5 | 2.6 | 26.2 | 2.4 | 1.5 | 4.2 | 213 | 3.1 |
| Pleasure/self-esteem | 3.7 | 2 | 4.1 | 2.3 | 9.3 | 1.8 | 0 | 6.2 | 4 | 1.7 | 6.7 | 0.3 | 2.2 | 10 | 6.6 | 0 | 264 | 3.9 |
| Friends/Family doing it | 4.1 | 4.4 | 2.8 | 1 | 8.2 | 2.6 | 0 | 10.8 | 3.9 | 2.7 | 9 | 0.6 | 3.2 | 6.5 | 8.9 | 1.6 | 275 | 4.1 |
| Marital Issues | 1.1 | 1 | 1.4 | 1.5 | 0.2 | 3.8 | 0 | 4.9 | 1.3 | 1 | 2.2 | 1.6 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 1.6 | 0.5 | 119 | 1.8 |
| Introduced to sex work by | ||||||||||||||||||
| Mother | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.8 | 0 | 0 | 0.9 | 1.5 | 3.7 | 0.4 | 5.9 | 0 | 2.5 | 0.9 | 56 | 0.8 |
| Father | 0 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0 | 0.7 | 0 | 1 | 0.6 | 0 | 1.7 | 0 | 0.5 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 31 | 0.5 |
| Other relatives | 5.7 | 5.6 | 2.9 | 7.6 | 1.8 | 5.9 | 15.7 | 4.2 | 2.7 | 3.7 | 6.6 | 4.1 | 3.2 | 0 | 7.8 | 6.4 | 300 | 4.4 |
| Friend | 63 | 63.8 | 72.2 | 66.9 | 67.9 | 75.4 | 51.4 | 55.7 | 70.9 | 74.7 | 31.4 | 66.8 | 23.4 | 76.7 | 53.3 | 60.7 | 4,584 | 67.7 |
| Nobody | 25.6 | 27.2 | 20.8 | 24 | 29.5 | 13.8 | 23.5 | 37.8 | 24 | 17.9 | 50.5 | 24.3 | 64.9 | 19.7 | 34.5 | 25.5 | 1,605 | 23.7 |
| Others | 1.7 | 0.9 | 1.7 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 1.9 | 9.4 | 0 | 0.3 | 0 | 0.6 | 3.5 | 0 | 0 | 1.4 | 6.1 | 96 | 1.4 |
| Non-response | 3.4 | 1 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 1.5 | 0 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 2.1 | 5.5 | 0.9 | 2.1 | 3.6 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 1.5 |
| Number of sexual partners per week | ||||||||||||||||||
| <10 | 60 | 77.2 | 77.8 | 93.4 | 93.1 | 64.3 | 71.6 | 76.4 | 82.0 | 70.9 | 97.0 | 90.9 | 45.2 | 85.4 | 77.9 | 83.8 | 4,859 | 75.8 |
| 11 to 20 | 20.0 | 14.7 | 17.3 | 6.2 | 6.2 | 26.7 | 25.1 | 23.6 | 15.5 | 25.2 | 3.0 | 8.3 | 33.1 | 7.2 | 20.0 | 13.5 | 1,117 | 17.5 |
| >20 | 20.0 | 8.1 | 4.9 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 9.0 | 3.3 | 0.0 | 2.5 | 3.9 | 0.0 | 0.8 | 21.7 | 7.4 | 2.1 | 2.7 | 423 | 6.7 |
| Average | 12.4 | 8.6 | 8.5 | 5.8 | 6.3 | 11.7 | 10.3 | 9.3 | 8.4 | 10.3 | 3.7 | 6.6 | 16.9 | 8.4 | 7.8 | 6.7 | 9.0 | |
| Average number paid clients per month | ||||||||||||||||||
| One to Two | 8.6 | 13.5 | 19.6 | 21.1 | 32.4 | 9.4 | 13.4 | 2.2 | 12.1 | 6.2 | 53.3 | 16.8 | 8.6 | 9.6 | 20.3 | 36.7 | 1,161 | 17.1 |
| Three or more | 91.4 | 86.5 | 80.5 | 78.9 | 67.6 | 90.6 | 86.6 | 97.8 | 87.9 | 93.8 | 46.7 | 83.2 | 91.5 | 90.4 | 79.7 | 63.3 | 5,612 | 82.9 |
| Average number of paid clients | 12.5 | 8.7 | 7 | 5.5 | 4.1 | 10.4 | 8.9 | 6.6 | 6.5 | 7.7 | 2.8 | 5.7 | 14.2 | 10.3 | 6.7 | 5.3 | 7.9 | |
| Main meeting place for clients | ||||||||||||||||||
| Sex worker house/rented room/other | 42.3 | 7 | 20.9 | 8.3 | 9.7 | 8.2 | 56.1 | 6.2 | 12.6 | 13.6 | 11.2 | 10.2 | 27.2 | 6.7 | 17.6 | 12.1 | 1,124 | 16.6 |
| Clients or other homes | 6 | 19.1 | 6.3 | 10.1 | 26 | 3.1 | 20.5 | 23.2 | 21.5 | 15 | 35.8 | 25.4 | 41.8 | 7.8 | 21.9 | 17.2 | 848 | 12.5 |
| Hotel/Guesthouse | 42 | 72.5 | 67.3 | 80.1 | 58.8 | 83.3 | 16.3 | 66.6 | 60.7 | 66.1 | 47.2 | 60.3 | 25.6 | 80.5 | 51.9 | 66.9 | 4,429 | 65.4 |
| Pub/Bar/Disco | 1.1 | 0 | 0.8 | 1.2 | 4.1 | 2.1 | 4.5 | 0 | 3.2 | 2.5 | 1.8 | 0 | 3.2 | 3.9 | 2.1 | 2.6 | 109 | 1.6 |
| Brothel, Massage parlor | 8.7 | 0.6 | 3.7 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 2 | 2.6 | 0 | 1.4 | 1 | 0 | 3.9 | 0 | 0 | 6.1 | 1.2 | 192 | 2.8 |