Transactional sex and HIV: understanding the gendered structural drivers of HIV in fishing communities in southern Malawi

Transactional sex and HIV: understanding the gendered structural drivers of HIV in fishing communities in southern Malawi
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DOI:
10.7448/ias.15.3.17364
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发表时间:
2012-06-01
影响因子:
6
通讯作者:
Theobald, Sally
Theobald, Sally
中科院分区:
医学1区
文献类型:
--
作者:
MacPherson, Eleanor E.;Sadalaki, John;Theobald, Sally

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简介:在马拉维南部,捕鱼业的性别差异很大,男子捕鱼,妇女加工、烘干和出售鱼。研究表明,生活在低收入国家渔业社区的人特别容易感染艾滋病毒。渔业社区艾滋病毒的主要驱动因素之一是性交易。在渔业中,这采取了"以鱼换性"网络的形式,在这种网络中,女鱼商与渔民进行性交易,以获得鱼或以更优惠的价格获得鱼。通过控制生产手段,在这些交流的权力动态有利于男子,可以使妇女更难以谈判safe-sex.Methods:定性方法被用来收集数据的性别驱动程序的交易性行为在渔业社区和不同群体如何看待艾滋病毒的风险,在这些交易。观察,焦点小组讨论和半结构化的访谈进行了与渔业社区的成员,包括男性和女性直接和间接参与fishing.Results:在渔业社区交易性行为是普遍的范围内的关系,从送礼,性鱼类交易,性工作者的遭遇。夫妇之间在性交易中的权力差异决定了个人谈判使用安全套的能力(妇女在谈判中处于特别不利的地位)。性交易的背景和动机各不相同,并受男女双方的经济需要和社会地位的影响。新进入该行业的女性鱼贩和因工作而旅行并经历艰苦生活条件的船员经常从事transactionsex.Conclusions:transactionsex在马拉维渔业社区很常见,由于现有的性别权力结构,妇女在谈判中特别脆弱。虽然人们普遍了解和理解与性交易有关的艾滋病毒风险,但这似乎并没有导致采取减少风险的战略。这表明,在渔业社区,采取有针对性的战略,增强妇女的经济权能,解决妇女艾滋病毒风险的结构性驱动因素,可能很重要。
Introduction: In Southern Malawi, the fishing industry is highly gendered, with men carrying out the fishing and women processing, drying and selling the fish. Research has shown that individuals living in fishing communities in low-income countries are particularly vulnerable to HIV infection. One of the key drivers of HIV in fishing communities is transactional sex. In the fishing industry this takes the form of "fish-for-sex" networks where female fish traders exchange sex with fishermen for access to or more favourable prices of fish. By controlling the means of production, the power dynamics in these exchanges favour men and can make it more difficult for women to negotiate safe sex.Methods: Qualitative methods were used to collect data on gendered drivers of transactional sex in the fishing community and how different groups perceive HIV risk in these transactions. Observation, focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews were undertaken with members of the fishing communities, including men and women directly and indirectly involved in fishing.Results: In fishing communities transactional sex was prevalent across a spectrum ranging from gift giving within relationships, to sex for fish exchanges, to sex worker encounters. Power differences between couples in transactional sexual encounters shape individual's abilities to negotiate condom use (with women being at a particularly disadvantaged negotiating position). The context and motivations for transactional sex varied and was mediated by economic need and social position both of men and women. Female fish traders new to the industry and boat crew members who travelled for work and experienced difficult living conditions often engaged in transactional sex.Conclusions: Transactional sex is common in Malawian fishing communities, with women particularly vulnerable in negotiations because of existing gendered power structures. Although knowledge and understanding of the HIV risk associated with transactional sex was common, this did not appear to result in the adoption of risk reduction strategies. This suggests that specially targeted strategies to increase women's economic empowerment and tackle the structural drivers of women's HIV risk could be important in fishing communities.