Narratives of transactional sex on a university campus

Shefer, Tamara; Clowes, Lindsay; Vergnani, Tania

doi:10.1080/13691058.2012.664660

Cited by 60 publications

(55 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…In Khayelitsha, both young and older people referred to men as the “minister of finance,” “minister of transport” and “minister of recreation” to allude to the kinds of material benefits that men offer their female sexual partners. Such characterisations of men have been observed in numerous other South African contexts (Selikow, Zulu, and Cedra 2002; Hunter 2010; Shefer, Clowes, and Vergnani 2012). It has been shown that women’s immediate need for material support and consequent reliance on men can render them less able to negotiate the terms of the sexual engagement, leaving them more vulnerable to HIV infection and gender-based violence (Dunkle et al 2007).…”

Section: Framing Sexual Partnerships In South Africa: Context and Crisupporting

confidence: 70%

The Cape Town boyfriend and the Joburg boyfriend: women’s sexual partnerships and social networks in Khayelitsha, Cape Town

Swartz

Harrison

2016

Social Dynamics

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In South Africa, young people’s “multiple” or “concurrent” partnerships have been increasingly prominent in public health discourses – as drivers of HIV transmission. Multiple partnerships are typically framed in moralising, negative terms and depicted primarily as male-driven, within a broader framework of women’s vulnerability and use of sex for survival and material gain. Based on ethnographic fieldwork with adolescents and young adults in Khayelitsha township near Cape Town, this article investigates young women’s partnerships by exploring their complex interpersonal and social dynamics. We unpack women’s multiple motivations for, and careful management strategies of, both sexual and social relationships in a broader context of socioeconomic exclusion, threats to health and wellbeing, social obligations and relationships of care. The meanings and practices associated with young people’s relationships are more than the sum of individual sexual behaviours, rigid cultural scripts or simply a locus of “risk.” The data presented here highlight some of the limitations of “prevention” approaches that do not take into account this nuanced and multilayered view of such relationships. The affective and empathetic dimensions of young peoples’ relationships, as well as the socioeconomic contexts in which they occur should also be considered. Without accounting for this context, standard “prevention” approaches are less likely to succeed.

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Section: Framing Sexual Partnerships In South Africa: Context and Crisupporting

confidence: 70%

The Cape Town boyfriend and the Joburg boyfriend: women’s sexual partnerships and social networks in Khayelitsha, Cape Town

Swartz

Harrison

2016

Social Dynamics

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“…Some studies found that school-going youth and university students reported sexual behaviour with high reliability (Clowes, Shefer, Fouten, Vergnani & Jacobs 2009;Flisher, Evans, Muller & Lombard 2004;Jaspan et al 2007;Shefer, Clowes & Vergnani 2012). By contrast, investigations conducted by Palen and coresearchers found inconsistencies when high school leaners reported on sexual behaviour (Palen, Smith, Caldwell, Flisher, Wegner, & Vergnani 2008).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 83%

Trends in HIV risk behaviour of incoming first-year students at a South African university: 2007–2012

Blignaut

Jacobs²,

Vergnani

2015

SAHARA-J: Journal of Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS

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The aim of the research on which this article is based was to understand the behavioural changes of the target student population over time to ensure that future prevention programmes are more effective in changing behaviour. This study reports on quantitative data collected at the University of the Western Cape over a six-year period between 2007 and 2012. All the students attending the orientation sessions and who were willing to complete the anonymous questionnaire during each of the six years were included in the study. Data were collected on the following aspects and subjects: sexual activity, age at first sexual encounter, number of sexual partners, condom usage, knowledge of how to use a condom, perceived ability to discuss condoms usage with a sexual partner, perception of HIV risk and HIV testing as well as the intention to be tested. Reported alcohol and drug usage, as well as depressive symptoms, was also recorded. The percentage of students reporting having had vaginal sex prior to entering university increased from 44% in 2007 to 51% in 2012 but, alarmingly, the consistent use of condoms decreased from 60% in 2007 to 51% in 2012. The average onset age of about 15.6 years for males and 16.7 years for females for vaginal sex did not change over the six-year period. No difference in smoking patterns or drug use was seen over the period of the study, but the number of entering students who indicated that they consumed alcohol increased significantly from 48% in 2007 to 58% in 2012. HIV testing increased from 19% in 2007 to 47% in 2012, whereas the intention to be tested showed no significant change over the period. Although students increasingly reported that they knew enough about HIV/AIDS (63% in 2007 and 69% in 2012), about a third reported suffering from AIDS fatigue. Prevention efforts targeted at those incoming first-year students who are not yet sexually active (about 45% in this study) should be developed and should take into account the multiplicity of factors that appear to influence their sexual debut.

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“…Being young and living in one’s parents or someone else’s house may indicate lack of economic independence, a factor that may encourage involvement in transactional sex. These findings call attention to implementing interventions that address economic and psychosocial needs of sexually abused women, including economic disempowerment and unequal gender dynamics (51–56). …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sexual Behavior and Risk Practices of HIV Positive and HIV Negative Rwandan Women

et al. 2014

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It is not well understood how infection with HIV and prior experience of sexual violence affects sexual behavior in African women. We describe factors influencing current sexual practices of Rwandan women living with or without HIV/AIDS. By design, 75% of participants were HIV positive and ~50% reported having experienced genocidal rape. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were fit to describe demographic and clinical characteristics that influenced sexual behavior in the previous 6 months, condom use, history of transactional sex, and prior infection with a non-HIV sexually transmitted disease. Respondents’ age, where they lived, whether or not they lived with a husband or partner, experience of sexual trauma, CD4 count, CES-D and PTSD scores were strongly associated with risky sexual behavior and infection with non-HIV STI. HIV positive women with a history of sexual violence in the contexts of war and conflict may be susceptible to some high-risk sexual behaviors.

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Narratives of transactional sex on a university campus

Cited by 60 publications

References 18 publications

The Cape Town boyfriend and the Joburg boyfriend: women’s sexual partnerships and social networks in Khayelitsha, Cape Town

The Cape Town boyfriend and the Joburg boyfriend: women’s sexual partnerships and social networks in Khayelitsha, Cape Town

Trends in HIV risk behaviour of incoming first-year students at a South African university: 2007–2012

Sexual Behavior and Risk Practices of HIV Positive and HIV Negative Rwandan Women

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