Background'Transactional sex' was regarded by the mid-1990s as an important determinant of HIV transmission, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Little attention has been paid to what the terms used to denote transactional sex suggest about how it is understood. This study provides a nuanced set of descriptions of the meaning of transactional sex in three settings. Furthermore, we discuss how discourses around transactional sex suggest linkages to processes of globalization and hold implications for vulnerability to HIV.MethodsThe analysis in this article is based on three case studies conducted as part of a multi-country research project that investigated linkages between economic globalization and HIV. In this analysis, we contextualize and contrast the 'talk' about transactional sex through the following research methods in three study sites: descriptions revealed through semi-structured interviews with garment workers in Lesotho; focus groups with young women and men in Antananarivo, Madagascar; and focus groups and in-depth interviews with young women and men in Mbekweni, South Africa.ResultsParticipants' talk about transactional sex reveals two themes: (1) 'The politics of differentiation' reflects how participants used language to demarcate identities, and distance themselves from contextually-based marginalized identities; and (2) 'Gender, agency and power' describes how participants frame gendered-power within the context of transactional sex practices, and reflects on the limitations to women's power as sexual agents in these exchanges. Talk about transactional sex in our study settings supports the assertion that emerging transactional sexual practices are linked with processes of globalization tied to consumerism.ConclusionsBy focusing on 'talk' about transactional sex, we locate definitions of transactional sex, and how terms used to describe transactional sex are morally framed for people within their local context. We take advantage of an opportunity to comparatively explore such talk across three different study sites, and contribute to a better understanding of both emerging sexual practices and their implications for HIV vulnerability. Our work underlines that transactional sex needs to be reflected as it is perceived: something very different from, but of at least equal concern to, formal sex work in the efforts to curb HIV transmission.

This paper examines the impact of the weakening of the extended family on the education of double orphans in Lesotho through in-depth interviews with participants from 3 of the 10 districts in Lesotho. The findings reveal that in Lesotho the extended family has not yet disintegrated as the literature suggests. However, it shows signs of rupturing, as many orphans reported that they are being taken into extended family households, the incentive for these households being, presumably, the financial and other material assistance that they receive from the government and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) which supplements household income and material wellbeing. The findings show that financial and other assistance given by the government and NGOs have resulted in conflict between the orphans and caregivers. This has also prompted many extended families to shift responsibilities to the government and NGOs. Most of the extended households provided the orphans with poor living conditions, such as unhygienic houses, poor nutrition, and little or no provision of school materials, which has had a negative impact on the education of the orphans. The combined effects of economic crisis and HIV and AIDS have resulted in extended families not being able to care for the needs of the orphans adequately, whilst continuing to accept them into their households. It is recommended that although extended families are still accepting orphans, the government should strengthen and recognise the important role played by families and the communities in caring for these vulnerable children. The government should also introduce social grants for orphans and other vulnerable children and review the current meagre public assistance (R100) it provides for orphans and vulnerable children in Lesotho. Other stakeholders should concentrate on strengthening the capacity of families and communities through programmes and projects which could be more sustainable than the current handouts given by many NGOs.

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The article is based on a study of the implementation of housing programmes in the Amathole District of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. A sample of 250 residents took part in a survey and housing officials, representatives of political parties, municipal managers, councillors and social workers were interviewed. The findings revealed that most of the houses had been constructed from substandard materials and evinced poor workmanship, such as poorly fitting doors and windows, cracked walls and weak roofs and floors. The numbers of housing units and the number of rooms in them were inadequate in terms of both demand and construction targets. Although houses are being provided, their quality poses a threat to the health, safety and human dignity of the intended beneficiaries.

Economic empowerment brings with it a wide range of consequences, both positive and negative. The objective of this paper was to examine the relationship between economic empowerment and the sexual behaviour and practices of migrant workers within the context of HIV and AIDS in the Lesotho textile industry. Data for this paper were extracted from the findings of a larger study which had been conducted concerning HIV and AIDS in the textile industry in Lesotho. Using in-depth interviews, data were collected from 40 participants who were purposively selected from five factories which had been chosen randomly. Empowerment theory was used as a lens to provide meanings for the experiences of the participants. The findings show that the participants were empowered only in certain respects in terms of Kabeer's empowerment model of ‘power to’ and ‘power within’, on one hand, and in terms of Malhotra's comprehensive empowerment framework at the household level, on the other, as being employed in the industry enabled them to participate in the economy. Employment in the sector provided the participants with the means to be able to acquire basic needs and the ability to participate in household decision-making: for the female participants, the ability to make independent sexual decisions was also enhanced. These improvements were greeted enthusiastically, particularly by the female participants, given their previously disadvantaged status as a result of coming from rural patriarchal villages with gender-defined hegemonic notions of respectability. The findings also indicate that environmental factors and others, such as meagre salaries, encouraged some of the female workers to engage in transactional sex, while some of the male participants tended to increase their sexual relationships as a result of acquiring employment and income from the industry. It is the contention of the authors of this study that true empowerment requires both vital resources and individual and collective participation, particularly for the women, who are more vulnerable than men. Finally, we conclude that the opportunities provided by economic empowerment have given the participants a new social meaning for their situation and an awareness about their place in power relations.

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