Transactional sex amongst young people in rural northern Tanzania

An ethnography of young women's motivations and negotiation

Bibliographic Data

ID23364075
AuthorsJoyce Wamoyi (0000-0002-2956-8666, National Institute for Medical Research, corresponding author), Daniel Wight (0000-0002-1234-3110, Medical Research Council), Mary L Plummer (0000-0002-6816-8235, University of London), Mary Plummer, Gerry Hilary Mshana (National Institute for Medical Research), David A Ro (0000-0001-7426-9561, University of London), David Ross (0000-0002-1917-1411)
Year2010
Volume7
Issue1
Pages2-2
Publication date2010-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueReproductive Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1742-4755 • E-ISSN: 1742-4755
PublisherSpringer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1186/1742-4755-7-2
PMID20429913
PMCIDPMC2867784
OpenAlexW2111098924
LanguageEN
Citations received90
References cited48

BACKGROUND: Material exchange for sex (transactional sex) may be important to sexual relationships and health in certain cultures, yet the motivations for transactional sex, its scale and consequences are still little understood. The aim of this paper is to examine young women's motivations to exchange sex for gifts or money, the way in which they negotiate transactional sex throughout their relationships, and the implications of these negotiations for the HIV epidemic. METHOD: An ethnographic research design was used, with information collected primarily using participant observation and in-depth interviews in a rural community in North Western Tanzania. The qualitative approach was complemented by an innovative assisted self-completion questionnaire. FINDINGS: Transactional sex underlay most non-marital relationships and was not, per se, perceived as immoral. However, women's motivations varied, for instance: escaping intense poverty, seeking beauty products or accumulating business capital. There was also strong pressure from peers to engage in transactional sex, in particular to consume like others and avoid ridicule for inadequate remuneration.Macro-level factors shaping transactional sex (e.g. economic, kinship and normative factors) overwhelmingly benefited men, but at a micro-level there were different dimensions of power, stemming from individual attributes and immediate circumstances, some of which benefited women. Young women actively used their sexuality as an economic resource, often entering into relationships primarily for economic gain. CONCLUSION: Transactional sex is likely to increase the risk of HIV by providing a dynamic for partner change, making more affluent, higher risk men more desirable, and creating further barriers to condom use. Behavioural interventions should directly address how embedded transactional sex is in sexual culture.

Condom · Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) · Human sexuality · Population · Sex work · Sociology · Transactional leadership · Transactional sex · Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health · Demography · Gender Studies · Marriage and Sexual Relationships · Medicine · Psychology · Sex work and related issues · Social Psychology