Oral pill | Vaginal ring | Injectable | |
Pros | Familiarity with pills | Less frequent use (Monthly) | Less frequent use (Quarterly or bimonthly) |
Easy to hide from partners and clients | |||
Familiarity with injections, especially for family planning | |||
Belief in power and efficacy of injections over ingested medicines | |||
Fits with spontaneity and mobility of work; nothing to bring or forget on trips | |||
Cons | Daily use | Placement in vagina | Inability to clear it quickly from the body if there are side effects |
Dislike of swallowing pills | She may feel or notice it | Discomfort with needles | |
Easy to forget to take, especially if drinking at work | Clients may feel or notice it and be suspicious | ||
Clients may see it, assume she is HIV+ and become violent | Displacements during sex (‘Pushed into’ or fall out of body) | ||
Fear of interactions with alcohol | Fear of infertility, changes to menstruation |
FSW, female sex workers; PrEP, pre-exposure prophylaxis.