Migration and Gender in China's HIV/AIDS Epidemic

Giovanna Merli, University of Wisconsin at Madison
Min Hein, University of Wisconsin at Madison
Jack DeWaard, University of Wisconsin at Madison

We explore the relationship between gender, migration and prostitution and its implications for the spread of HIV in China with a bio-behavioral macrosimulation model of the spread of HIV/AIDS. Innovations introduced in the pre-existing model include a description of the process of renewal of the prostitute population, women's transitions in and out of prostitution, and the interaction between female migration and prostitution. The simulations are driven by input parameters extracted from a variety of data sources, including the China’s 2000 census, the Chinese Health and Family Life Survey and a new survey of sexual behavior and sexual networks conducted among Shanghai residents, migrants and female sex workers. Our results will improve knowledge of the epidemiological relevance of Chinese migrants for the spread of HIV/AIDS, shed further light on the complex process of migration in China and evaluate an important gender dimension of HIV/AIDS vulnerability in China.