Two major behavioural changes

Two major behavioural changes took place: condom use increased in sex work settings,
as was intended, and the frequency of visits to sex workers by men fell dramatically,
an unanticipated outcome. The proportion of 21-year-old men who indicated visiting a
sex worker in the past year fell from nearly 60% in 1991 to 8% in 1998 while condom
use during commercial sex transactions rose to more than 95% of all acts in 19985.
These changes were the result of greater awareness of risk generated by the 100%
Condom Use Programme. The programme’s effectiveness was evident in the rapid drop
in sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among men reporting at government clinics
UNAIDS

and, in particular, among male military conscripts (a fairly representative sample of
men in their late teens since conscription in Thailand is primarily by lottery). Although
the programme did not explicitly aim to discourage commercial sex, increased risk
awareness apparently caused large numbers of men to avoid visits to sex workers.