I AM writing in response to the article in Wednesday's (Jan 15) edition about sex health advice leaflets being sent to "kerb crawlers"' addresses.

I worked (and still do in another area) as a nurse providing health advice to sex workers. Most of these individuals don't access mainstream health care services for fear of being judged by what they do. It is very difficult and takes a lot of time and effort for people like myself to gain their trust enough for them to be open and come forward for health care.

In the early 1980s, when HIV first came to the fore, prostitutes and drug users were put forward as being the main routes of transmission for this disease. This wasn't true then, and isn't true now, so the fact that the police are sending sexually transmitted infection leaflets to "kerb crawlers" again insinuates that sex workers are pools of infection.

A research project I carried out on the health and lifestyle of street sex workers in Bolton showed that their awareness, and use of protection against sexually transmitted infections, was high.

All these leaflets being sent out have again stigmatised a group of individuals who are already wary of mainstream services. This makes the work of health care professionals who try and address the health and lifestyle issues of these individuals twice as hard.

Instead of just targeting sex workers, why not distribute these leaflets in pubs and clubs on a Friday and Saturday night? This would enable the risks of sexually transmitted infections to be made aware to the wider population where these infections are more prevalent.

Donna Cardell

Glencoe Drive

Bolton