Men, women and the trouble with condoms: problems associated with condom use by migrant workers in rural Zambia
Bond, V.; Dover, P.
Health Transition Review the Cultural Social and Behavioural Determinants of Health 7 Suppl: 377-391
1997
ISSN/ISBN: 1036-4005 PMID: 10169656 Document Number: 268474
A large commercial farm is the largest employer in Chiawa, a rural chieftaincy in Lusaka Rural Province. The operation recruits annually approximately 2500 seasonal migrant workers. Most of the migrants are young men employed on a temporary basis and living without their spouses in camps. Many migrants have extramarital sexual relations while working in Chiawa. Such behavior has been a major factor in facilitating the spread of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in southern Africa. Using research conducted in Chiawa since 1991, the author examines condom use in relation to what people see as the purpose of sex, what good sex entails, and how that relates to ideas of being a proper man or woman. There is an emphasis among the workers upon male potency and male and female fertility are often more important than worries about contracting HIV and other STDs. Sex is generally perceived to be a procreative act in this culture in which both sexes have negative attitudes toward condoms. Condom use is usually only negotiated within some short-term relationships and then not consistently. The traditional, deep focus upon procreation among the migrants makes it difficult to balance customary ideas with modern lifestyles and needs. For example, people will report rarely using condoms despite a stated desire to avoid pregnancy and STDs.