More housewives have resorted to offering sex, from their homes, to make ends meet, with some doing it with the permission of their husbands.

Husbands who do know that their spouses have taken on the world’s oldest profession, are closing an eye, as their income alone is not sufficient, The Star reported on Sunday.

Some of the wives have resorted to selling sex for a living as the job gives them the flexibility in terms of working hours.

These housewives including transgender people who are ofering sex from their homes, are among the reasons for the increase of sexual transmission of HIV, authorities say.

Malaysian AIDS Council Global Fund Project director Joselyn Phang told the English daily, sex workers who operate from home or offer sexual services at their clients’ homes are placing themselves in danger.

Phang said this was because they could be abused or attacked by their clients, who could sometimes be high on drugs.

Phang also noted that the nature of their work, which is usually less visible than regular sex workers, had made it more difficult to find them and offer health screenings.

Meanwhile, police said the nature of home-based sex services has made it tougher for them to go after those in the business.

The internet and smartphones have also made them harder to track and closing down websites offering sexual services does not help as they open another one soon after.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam told Bernama on Saturday that last year, a total of 3,438 new HIV cases were detected at the rate of 11.7 per 100,000 population, while for the first nine months of this year, 2,564 new cases were reported.

He said the government had planned to reduce new cases of HIV at a rate of 11 per 100,000 population by 2015.