Transactional Sex with “Sugar Daddies” among Female Preparatory Students: HIV Risk Assessment in Hawassa Town, SNNPR, Ethiopia
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Date
2011-07
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Addis Abeba Universty
Abstract
Transactional sex among female students with old men is one of the major factors that fuel the
spread of HIV and AIDS due to extended sexual network. In Ethiopia, though various studies
had been conducted to assess the sexual behavior of female students, there is still a paucity of
researches that address transactional sex among young females with older men.
The main aim of the study was to assess the magnitude and factors associate transactional sex
with “sugar daddies” in relation with HIV/AIDS. A cross-sectional study using mixed method
was conducted among 620 female students in Hawassa town, SNNPR, Ethiopia from September
2010 to May 2011. Students were selected randomly from 5 preparatory schools and a snow-ball
sampling technique was used to interview 10 female students involved in transactional sex with
“sugar daddies” for the qualitative study.
The findings of this study indicated that about a fifth, 130 (21%) of female preparatory students
were sexually active and 71 (11.5%) have been involved in sexual relation with “sugar daddies”.
Gaining financial benefit was the commonest reason for the relation with older men as
mentioned by 56 (78.9%) girls. Among those who reported to have been engaged in sexual
relation with “sugar daddies”, 56 (78.9%) girls had sexual partner other than of older men
concurrently and most of them were with young employees, 31 (43.7%) followed by students, 17
(23.9%). Sixty six (93%) of respondents who date “sugar daddies” had multiple sexual partners
sequentially and of them only 22.7% used condom consistently. Girls who were in older age
group [AOR (95% CI) = 6.87 (3.48-13.58)], who had lost both parents [AOR (95% CI) =2.99
(1.14-7.84)], with less economic status [AOR (95% CI) 25.41 (7.80-82.76)], who chewed Khat
[AOR (95% CI) = 5.8 (2.1-15.77)] and consumed alcohol [AOR (95% CI) =6.9 (3.7-12.78)]
were more likely to had sexual relation with “sugar daddies” than their counterparts.
This study indicated that, female students in Hawassa Town were not only engaged in
transactional sex with older men but also having concurrent or serial sexual partnership with
young people too. This sexual network suggests that, other girls/boys who are not in
transactional sex are also vulnerable to HIV. Therefore, HIV prevention programs should focus
in transactional sex among female students to halt the transmission of HIV among generation.
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Transactional Sex with “Sugar Daddies”