Funded Research
Sexual Behavior of Nairobi's Urban Poor
Source: NIH/NICHD/OAR
Active: 09/01/03 - 07/31/07
Investigator(s):
Francis Dodoo
This is first phase of a research project on sexual partnerships and behavior among the poorest of the poor in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi. The focus of the behavioral research on sexual activity related to HIV has been on high-risk groups which, for women, are generally defined as prostitutes or sex workers and the young women who typically associate with "sugar daddies". Adolescent girls who engage in sexual behavior with their peers are characterized as being coerced to show love. Likewise, married women who engage in extramarital sexual activity are seen to do so because they are neglected spouses in polygamous marriages or because they experience bouts of separation from spouses who are typically working away from home. Invariably the literature reads as though women are, for the most part, unwilling or powerless sexual actors. Yet, emerging evidence from Nairobi's slums indicates that economic need may actually coax women to use sex as a means of exchange, in ways that do not coincide with local or even self definitions of prostitution. Although such sexual exchanges are hardly irrational, the focus of research on those considered "high-risk" has precluded an understanding of the sexual attitudes, behavior, and associated motivations of larger segments of the female population. The levels of sexual activity among women in general, who they have sex with, the extent to which they engage in multiple sexual partnerships (concurrently or simultaneously), their assessments of own-risk, and their protective actions, have all been obscured. All of these have implications for our ability to combat the spread of the virus. With the rapid urbanization amid economic deterioration that is ongoing in Africa, it is imperative that we understand the sexual behavior of women in general and poor women in particular. This is even more crucial because the poor have less information and education about HIV/AIDS, and less access to relevant services. This work taps two rich datasets (one qualitative and one quantitative) to present a portrait of the sexual activity or behavior of poor women. Also, because the early evidence from the field implicated adolescents and children, the research will highlight the peculiar circumstances of very young, poor children.
