A qualitative study on intimate partnerships in the context of the HIV-AIDS pandemic in a rural South African community

Starting point of the research is the fact that for some years now women and girls are at the centre of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in South Africa. Across the world, there has been a changing pattern of male/female infections in HIV. Early cases in many countries were concentrated on male homosexuals and intravenous drug users (as it is still the case in Europe today), but as the epidemic has spread there has been a progressive shift towards heterosexual transmission and increasing infection rates in females. In terms of the increasing infection rates of women, sexuality and gender-based violence were acknowledged as key issues in the spread of the epidemic - for the whole of sub-Saharan Africa. There is a clear linkage between the constructions of female sexuality and the prevalence of HIV/AIDS. The reality for many women in Africa displays an ongoing violation of their reproductive and sexual rights. Various studies documented a high incidence of non-consensual sex; women's sexual lives seem to be fraught with physical violence, coercion and female powerlessness. Sexual violence has drastically escalated in South Africa, the experience of non-consensual sexual intercourse seems almost to be the norm in a South African woman's life. All this suggests a victim status of South African women and girls in terms of issues of sexuality and bodily integrity and thus offers wide ground for feminist analyses. Negotiating safe sex in marriage or intimate partnerships is very difficult for women in spaces where patriarchal traditional structures are pervasive. The study looks into intimate partnerships in the context of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The findings may contribute to improve the success of future HIV/AIDS prevention programmes in local communities, especially those targeting on rural women.

Laufzeit: seit 2007