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Gender power imbalance on women's capacity to negotiate self-protection against HIV/AIDS in Botswana and South Africa.
| Content Provider | Semantic Scholar |
|---|---|
| Author | Langen, Tabitha T. |
| Copyright Year | 2005 |
| Abstract | BACKGROUND Gender power imbalance, which translates into a power imbalance in sexual interactions, is increasingly being recognized as a factor in fueling the spread of HIV/AIDS by increasing the number of unsafe sexual encounters. OBJECTIVES To examine the influence of gender power imbalance and other factors on women's capacity to negotiate self protection against HIV infection; as well as men's response to the suggested condom use. METHODS Drawing on data gathered from 2658 women aged 18-49 years in a cross-sectional survey in Kwa Zulu Natal Province of South Africa and Botswana, the study used descriptive statistics and logistic regression to reveal a number of gender related factors that significantly affect women's ability to protect themselves against HIV infection. RESULTS Gender power imbalance significantly affects women's ability to suggest condom use to their partners. The study showed that it is women with partners 10 or more years older than them, abused women, and those economically dependent on their partners who are less likely to suggest condom use to their partners. Gender power imbalance also influences men's inclination towards refusing to use the suggested condom. The study showed that men are more likely to refuse to use the condom when the age difference between them and their female partners is wide, if they are in a married relationship, and where there is no communication about HIV/AIDS between them and their partners. What is more disturbing is the finding that it is men with multiple partners who are significantly more likely to refuse to use the condom. CONCLUSION Across all levels of society, there is a need to see a social paradigm shift that transforms relationships between women and men, from the one of inequality and dominance as is the case in patriarchal societies, to equality, respect and consideration for one another. |
| File Format | PDF HTM / HTML |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | https://www.ajol.info/index.php/ahs/article/viewFile/7016/1428 |
| PubMed reference number | 16245988v1 |
| Volume Number | 5 |
| Issue Number | 3 |
| Journal | African health sciences |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Subject Keyword | Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome Battered Women Condoms, Male Cross-Sectional Studies Description Forty Nine HIV Infections Societies |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
