Silence, Aids And Sexual Culture In Africa

WIN News, Wntr, 2001 by Suzanne Leclerc

"From my own research with young people in townships around Durban, there is quite clearly another prevalent form of transactional sex.. . .It involves girls eagerly and easily exchanging sex to pay for chain-store accounts, cell-phone bills, designer-label clothing, etc. . . As one young woman commented: 'If I want jewelry and other nice things, I must get them now. After we're married, forget it! Our men are awful'. . .

Along with the general under-reaction to the growing epidemic. . . there is, a great reluctance- that some have called 'a refusal' - by Africans to come to terms with the real sexual cultures of their societies. . . There are widespread beliefs that males are biologically programmed to need sexual relations regularly with more than one woman, and often concurrently. Such beliefs are logically consistent with societies that were traditionally polygamous. . .

Studies consistently suggest that sex is regarded by the young as necessary, natural and an expression of love, as well as an activity that their peers expect of them if they are to be considered 'normal'. The use of a condom is taken as a sign of mistrust, as well as the hallmark of one who indulges in casual sex. Condom use in marriage is almost unheard of. Partner dynamics are characterised by an avoidance of direct communication, with the assumption that men should control the sexual encounter.

Common to both young men and women is the belief that a man has a right, or even duty, to force himself onto a woman who displays reluctance or shyness. Gender-based violence itself is often seen as a sign of affection, showing how deeply the man cares. Sex in marriage is simply expected as part of the marriage 'deal' whenever the husband demands it. Indeed, even in cases where the woman discloses her HIV-positive status to a husband, studies show that the husband is likely to continue conjugal relations with her while refusing to be tested himself. . .

What emerges most clearly from all these studies is the fact that there is an urgent need to recognise and accept the nature and shape of contemporary sexual practices by men that have dire consequences in the wake of AIDS. By turning our collective attention to academic debates on the origins or existence of AIDS, we are conveniently avoiding facing up to sensitive issues around sexual culture. By pinning our hopes on vaccines and cures, we risk 'over-medicalising' our engagement with AIDS. We simply cannot afford to get lost among the trees and lose sight of the forest, the latter being the socio-cultural-sexual context that provides such a fertile breeding ground for HIV/AIDS.

This points to the crux of the heavy silences that nourish AIDS in Africa, including the silences and denials of governments. What needs to be addressed is the role of men, particularly their attitudes and behaviours that reflect their sexual irresponsibility and a certain death sentence, not only for themselves, but also for millions of women and children. . .

Firm measures on the part of government to foster the transformation of the sexual attitudes and practices of young and middle-aged men will run the risk of inciting the hostility of, politically, the most dangerous section of the population. Perhaps this explains why the issue is so carefully avoided. But until such measures are taken, and our leaders speak out with vigour and determination we will continue to re-enact the high-risk sexual culture and the silence that enshrouds it. . ."