The Sex Lives of African Women: Self-Discovery, Freedom, and Healing

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Wells H, Polders LA. Anti-gay hate crimes in South Africa: prevalence, reporting practices, and experiences of the police. Agenda. 2006;20:20–8. The mother of a teenage girl saw the horrifying pictures and confiscated her daughter’s phone. A work colleague of the woman said they recognized some of the boys and advised her to take the video to Daily Sun,” the newspaper reported.

Grace, the aspiring singer struggling to put food on the table, has a slightly different perspective - to her the similarities with sex work are more apparent. Nyoni JE, Ross MW. Condom use and HIV-related behaviors in urban Tanzanian men who have sex with men: a study of beliefs, HIV knowledge sources, partner interactions and risk behaviors. AIDS Care. 2013;25(2):223–9.

Somalia flash floods kill dozens, leave hundreds of thousands homeless

If you hear any stories coming out of Africa it’s about poverty. But now viewers are seeing young, dynamic women on TV, I think that’s been the biggest thing.” Moreira AD, Halkitis PN, Kapadia F. Sexual identity development of a new generation of emerging adult men: the P18 cohort study. Psychol Sex Orientat Gend Divers. 2015;2(2):159–67. In sub-Saharan Africa, gay, bisexual, and other sexual minority men (SMM) are disparately impacted by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) [ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]. A systematic review and meta-analysis estimated the overall HIV prevalence among SMM in sub-Saharan Africa to be 18%, nearly five times higher than men in the general population [ 10]. Social stigma in sub-Saharan Africa has created a climate where SMM often remain hidden, which contributes to an increased risk of HIV transmission [ 10], and makes it more challenging to researching these populations. Johnson LF, Mulongeni P, Marr A, Lane T. Age bias in survey sampling and implications for estimating HIV prevalence in men who have sex with men: insights from mathematical modelling. Epidemiol Infect. 2018;146(8):1036–42.

For many young Kenyans, the values espoused in families, schools, and churches simply do not align with the economic realities of the country, or cannot compete with the material temptations that, in the age of reality TV and social media, are everywhere visible. Silvestre AJ, Hylton JB, Johnson LM, Houston C, Witt M, Jacobson L, et al. Recruiting minority men who have sex with men for HIV research: results from a 4-city campaign. Am J Public Health. 2006;96(6):1020–7. Fernandez CV, Kodish E, Weijer C. Informing study participants of research results: an ethical imperative. IRB. 2003;25(3):12–9.Reddy V, Sandfort TGM, Rispel R, editors. From social silence to social science: perspectives on same-sex sexuality, gender and HIV/AIDS in South Africa. Human Sciences Research Council: Pretoria; 2009. Progress in ensuring that girls and women have bodily autonomy and agency has been slow. Fewer than half of women in Africa aged 15 to 49 make their own decisions about their sexual and reproductive health and rights (including about their own healthcare, the use of contraception and when to say no to sex), according to research from the international agency UNFPA. Beyond drinking establishments, some men described meeting sex partners online and through social media. One participant mentioned feeling more comfortable meeting people online. He liked it because it was easier to stop communicating with a potential partner if it wasn’t working out. Rendi elaborated on this as well: “ We communicate and set a date and meet, and if you are not my cup of tea, I would tell you that ‘you are not my cup of tea, sorry.’” Others shared that social media made it easier for them to be more confident, stating: “ I prefer meeting on social media first because in person, I am kind of shy.” Kufa T, Lane T, Manyuchi A, Singh B, Isdahl Z, Osmand T, et al. The accuracy of HIV rapid testing in integrated bio-behavioral surveys of men who have sex with men across 5 provinces in South Africa. Medicine. 2017;96(28):e7391-e. Dr Joyce Wamoyi from the National Institute for Medical Research in Tanzania says girls and young women between the ages of 15 and 24 have consistently been at higher risk of HIV infection than any other section of the population in sub-Saharan Africa.

Sex-positivity is for women’s reproductive rights and legislation, as choice and freedom are core elements of its philosophy. Sex-positivity recognizes that sex and sexuality are intricate and complex human experiences Roberts B, Reddy V. Pride and prejudice: public attitudes towards homosexuality. HSRC Review. 2008;6(4). Media reports suggest the police initially failed to open a missing persons case but that they have since done so. But again, sex-positivity is about more than sex and even sexual health. It upholds freedom and reinforces basic human values. Sex-positivity is anti-patriarchy and anti-homophobia. It’s not a space for spreading negative, self-serving creeds that discriminate against certain individuals for being human. Sex-positivity is for the end of sexual abuseLane T, Osmand T, Marr A, Shade SB, Dunkle K, Sandfort T, et al. The Mpumalanga Men’s study (MPMS): results of a baseline biological and behavioral HIV surveillance survey in two MSM communities in South Africa. Plos One. 2014;9(11):e111063. Beyrer C, Baral SD, van Griensven F, Goodreau SM, Chariyalertsak S, Wirtz AL, et al. Global epidemiology of HIV infection in men who have sex with men. Lancet. 2012;380(9839):367–77. Participants were asked to define their community or communities. While most men understood “community” as their friendships with other gay men, others talked about being linked to LGBTQ+ organizations. Almost all men said that being social and connecting with others was important to them. Khutala stated that the people he goes out with often are his “ best friends from high school, we’re still together and we see each other every month.”

There has been a rising growth of the women's movement in Africa and a rising feminist consciousness," says Oyunga Pala, the Nairobi columnist. "Women who were vilified for being sexually active have been given license to just be. There is less slut-shaming than before." Inferences drawn from these findings provide direction on how to improve middle-aged SMM’s representation in research, such as recruiting a higher proportion of older and middle-aged SMM to serve as seed participants and building stronger community partnerships to disseminate study findings to settings where data collection is conducted. It was my teacher for me. To realize that he is into men … he was just nasty always sending me to his [house] … rural schools teachers have houses there. We both don't know what happened, I just found myself in bed with him. Msibi T. The lies we have been told: on (Homo) sexuality in Africa. Africa Today. 2011;58(1):55–77. The team looked at five features of the skulls, such as the shape of the eye area, and by using a forensic databank covering modern and historical populations around the world, explored the individuals’ probable affinity with different populations. The approach, the researchers say, is an established forensic tool, and is not based on controversial methods involving cranial measurements.Vu L, Adebajo S, Tun W, Sheehy M, Karlyn A, Njab J, et al. High HIV prevalence among men who have sex with men in Nigeria: implications for combination prevention. JAIDS J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2013;63(2):221–7.