Understanding mobility and sexual risk behaviour among women in fishing communities of Lake Victoria in East Africa: a qualitative study

Abstract

Background HIV-prevalence and incidence is high in many fishing communities around Lake Victoria in East Africa. In these settings, mobility among women is high and may contribute to increased risk of HIV infection and poor access to effective prevention and treatment services. Understanding the nature and patterns of this mobility is important for the design of interventions. We conducted an exploratory study to understand the nature and patterns of women’s mobility to inform the design of HIV intervention trials in fishing communities of Lake Victoria. Methods This was a cross-sectional formative qualitative study conducted in six purposively selected fishing communities in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. Potential participants were screened for eligibility on age (18+ years) and having stayed in the fishing community for more than 6 months. We collected data using introductory and focus group discussions, and in-depth interviews with key informants. Data focused on: history and patterns of mobility, migration in and out of fishing communities and the relationship between mobility and HIV infection. Since the interviews and discussions were not audio-recorded, detailed notes were taken and written up into full scripts for analysis. We conducted a thematic analysis using constant comparison analysis. Results Participants reported that women in fishing communities were highly mobile for work-related activities. Overall, we categorized mobility as travels over long and short distances or periods depending on the kind of livelihood activity women were involved in. Participants reported that women often travelled to new places, away from familiar contacts and far from healthcare access. Some women were reported to engage in high risk sexual behaviour and disengaging from HIV care. However, participants reported that women often returned to the fishing communities they considered home, or followed a seasonal pattern of work, which would facilitate contact with service providers. Conclusion Women exhibited circular and seasonal mobility patterns over varying distances and duration away from their home communities. These mobility patterns may limit women’s access to trial/health services and put them at risk of HIV-infection. Interventions should be tailored to take into account mobility patterns of seasonal work observed in this study.

A gendered analysis of fisherfolk migration on Lake Victoria, East Africa

“…Z. Kwena et al (2020) found in their research in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda that women make circular trips between fish landing sites on Lake Victoria to buy and sell fish, and also visit families and their villages away from the lake. The size of the fishing business influenced the distance travelled and the amount of time away, with those operating on a larger scale travelling further and being away for longer than those with a medium-sized business.…”

“…Women also generated income by cooking and renting out rooms at the landing sites, a particularly important service for migrant fishers (Z. Kwena et al, 2020). In the Dagaa fishing camps in Tanzania, many of the women who were working as cooks were either widowed or divorced (Medard, 2015).…”

“…Access to fish by female fish processors and traders is reported to be often dependent on transactional sexual relationships, being linked to migration of fishers away from their families and permanent landing site and consequently to high levels of HIV/ AIDS (Z. Kwena et al, 2020;Z. A. Kwena et al, 2019).…”

“…Such women, through their independent economic enterprises such as petty trading and cooking for migrant fishers, challenge social norms and practices by not conforming to gendered domestic roles (Z. Kwena et al, 2020;Pearson et al, 2013). In a similar vein, reported abandonment of social norms has also been attributed to high levels of consumption of locally brewed alcohol (Pearson et al, 2013).…”

Multisectoral one health approach to make aquaculture and fisheries resilient to a future pandemic‐like situation

“…Unfortunately, despite the crucial social and financial roles of women in the artisanal and small‐scale fishing communities, they often constitute lower strata of the workforce and are often underpaid (CSE, 2016; Ogden, 2017). Also, due to economic vulnerability, the women in the SSF communities are susceptible to issues such as lack of sanitation and health services, prevalence of drug and alcohol abuse, and sexual exploitation (Bennett et al., 2020; Kwena et al., 2020; Woodhead et al., 2018). Unfortunately, there are yet no data on exact implications of the COVID‐19 pandemic on the situation of the women involved in the SSF or the entire aquaculture and fishing industry.…”