Sex in Geneva, sex in Lilongwe, and sex in Balaka

Economic Inequality and HIV in Malawi

“…It has also been suggested that extreme poverty could induce women to exchange sex for goods or money to stay above the subsistence level (Swidler and Watkins, 2007;Tawfik and Watkins, 2007), while men could be induced to leave their families for extended periods to work far away from home, increasing the likelihood of extra marital affairs (Arrehag et al, 2006). Furthermore, poor people are more vulnerable to external shocks, such as drought, and the combined effect of poverty and shocks may increase risky behavior substantially (Bryceson and Fonseca, 2006).…”

Sexual behaviour patterns in South Africa and their association with the spread of HIV: insights from a mathematical model

“…It is also important to note that these infections occurring in spousal relationships are roughly equally split between married men infected by their wives and married women infected by their husbands, which contradicts the popular belief that HIV transmission occurring in spousal unions is almost exclusively male-to-female. Evidence from South Africa and other African countries (Tawfik and Watkins 2007;Orubuloye, Caldwell and Caldwell 1992;de Walque 2007) indicates that it is not uncommon for married women to engage in extramarital relationships, and a significant proportion of HIV infections in married women are likely to be the result of extramarital sex.…”

Perceived risk of HIV infection and mental health in rural Malawi

“…Although economic resources, social status, sexual norms, and power relationships in marriage differ by gender in Malawi (Bingenheimer 2010;Porter et al 2004;Reniers 2008;Tawfik and Watkins 2007), and therefore women and men may respond to and cope with the risk of HIV in different ways, separate regression analyses were not conducted for women and men because the coefficient estimates are, for the most part, similar for the two genders (see Appendix B).…”