II.1.3 WOMEN VULNERABLE FOR MANY REASONS
Married girls have higher levels of sexual activity than their
sexually active unmarried peers, have limited ability to negotiate condom use
and have low power to refuse sex from their partner21. Additional
health risks are brought upon married girls by the pressure on them to become
pregnant. Women are more biologically more susceptible to HIV infection than
men, but young women and girls are especially vulnerable because their immature
genital tracts are not yet fully developed22.Women of all ages are
more likely than men to become infected with HIV during unprotected vaginal
intercourse, this vulnerability is especially marked in women and girls whose
genital tract is still not fully mature23.
It is the combination of biological, cultural and economic
factors that make women and young girls' particularly vulnerable to HIV
infection. As we know the girls are more likely than boys to be raped or to be
forced into sexual intercourse by someone older, stronger or richer. We can not
forget the case of older «sugar daddies» who offer schoolgirls gifts
or money for school fees in return for sex. In the era of AIDS, the
consequences for young girls can be disastrous and the spread of HV infection
is at high level depending on many factors and many circumstances.
21
www.eenet.org
22 UNAIDS.2005
23 UNAIDS .2000
II.2 SOCIAL CULTURAL FACTORS IN HIV TRANSMISSION II.2.1.
INTRODUTION
According to International Council of AIDS Service
Organization (ICASO, 2000) the degree which women and men are able to control
the various aspects of their sexual lives (their ability to negotiate the
timing of sex, conditions under which it takes place, and the use of condoms),
plays a critical role in determining their vulnerability to HIV infection.
Women determine and reinforce themselves through traditional practices such as
wife sharing, widowhood relates rituals, and early marriage, female genital
mutilation and the condoning of gender based violence.
These cultural practices, values, norms, and traditions have
strong influences on the visible aspects of individual behaviors and are
important determinants of men's and women's vulnerability to
HIV24.
Personal risk of contracting HIV is determined by numerous
social and cultural factors that shape gender and sexuality perceptions,
attitudes and behaviors. Gender norms are deeply rooted in the social cultural
and practices. In some culture motherhood is a key aspect of femininity. The
use of contraceptives as a method that prevent pregnancy and HIV, present
complexes and often impossible challenges for women and men in balancing their
desire against HIV prevention. However, there are a number of social cultural
issues around early marriage, particularly those related to gender
discrimination and human rights violations which make married girls vulnerable
to social and economic poverty25 . Various social and cultural
traditions reinforce vulnerability to HIV. These are examined in the context of
the following cultural norms and practices.
24 UNAIDS.2000
25
www.ncbi.nlm.nlh.gov
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