Transactional sex as a risky sexual behaviour for HIV among the urban poor: a case-study of Mukuru slums in Nairobi, Kenya

Victor Otieno Okech ¹, Victor Wanjala Namulanda ^{2, 3}, Monika Mačkinová ¹
¹ Comenius University Bratislava, Faculty of education, Department of Social Work, Bratislava, Slovak Republic ² St. Elizabeth University College of Health and Social Sciences, Bratislava, Slovak Republic ³ Mary Immaculate VCT Centre, Nairobi, Kenya

Korespondenční autor: Victor Otieno Okech (okech1@uniba.sk)

ISSN 1804-7181 (On-line)

Full verze:

Submitted:21. 7. 2022
Accepted: 9. 11. 2022
Published online: 31. 12. 2022

Summary

Transactional sex, i.e., non-marital sexual relationships among friends and acquaintances, is one of the leading pathways through which people acquire the HIV infection. It involves exchanging sex for valuable materials such as money, food, shelter, and clothing. In most cases, transactional sex involves concurrent multiple sexual partners who inconsistently use condoms, thus exposing each other to the risk of HIV infection.

The aim of this study is to examine the factors associated with transactional sex, i.e., passive prostitution, which predisposes individuals to the risk of HIV infection. To realize this objective, we carried out this study among residents of Mukuru slums who had gone to seek voluntary counselling and testing at the Mary Immaculate VCT Centre in Nairobi, Kenya.

This study involved issuing respondents with questionnaires that sought their demographic information, consistency in using condoms, and the kind of gifts they exchanged for sex. From this study, we observed that most respondents exchanged sex for food and money, and that only 25% of them consistently used condoms. We thus concluded that inconsistent use of condoms is one of the risk factors associated with transactional sex that predisposes individuals to HIV infection.

Keywords: Condom use; HIV; Intergenerational sex; Prostitution; Transactional sex; Urban poor

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