Mining, sex work and STIs: why force a connection?

Abstract

Can the mining boom be blamed for the rising rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in some states? The Australian Medical Association thinks so, with its Queensland president Dr Richard Kidd attributing rising rates of gonorrhoea, syphilis and chlamydia in Queensland and Western Australia to bored and cashed-up miners. Kidd is not an isolated voice. Queensland Health Minister Lawrence Springborg recently blamed sex workers operating in mining regions for the doubling of HIV diagnoses in Queensland - from 2.7 per 100,000 population in 2001 to 5.4 in 2010. These claims have been disputed by sex industry advocates who say commentators have got it wrong. Fly in fly out (FIFO) sex workers aren't contributing to the problem - they're part of the solution. So who should you believe: the medical professionals and politicians or the sex worker advocates?