AIDS Prevention Strategies, Ibadan, Nigeria
Article in AIDS and Behavior
Risk-Related Behavior, Sexual Coercion, and Implications for Prevention Strategies Among Female Apprentice Tailors, Ibadan, Nigeria
This article appeared in the September 2, 2002 issue of AIDS and Behavior.
Abstract
We describe a survey of 300 young female apprentice tailors in a periurban community in Ibadan, Nigeria. The objectives were to assess HIV risk-related behavior in order to plan appropriate prevention interventions. Most apprentice tailors were 18–21 years old (68%), single (95%), and had not completed secondary school (98%). History of sexual intercourse was reported by 53%; 42% had ever experienced unwanted touching of the breast, backside, shoulder, or waist; 4% reported being raped in the last 6 months. Of sexually active women, 57% reported sexual debut with an instructor; 21% had exchanged sex for money or gifts and only 27% had used a condom during their most recent sexual intercourse. Instability of employment and lack of instructor support were primary barriers to implementing a pilot peer-education HIV prevention project. The poor social and economic conditions of apprentice tailors make them vulnerable to sexual exploitation and, in turn, to HIV infection. A peer-education intervention within the context of a microcredit economic development program may reduce risk for HIV among women in Nigeria’s informal economy.
Authors
Ademola J. Ajuwon
African Regional Health Education Center, Department of Health Promotion and Education, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Nigeria
Willi McFarland
Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, University of California, San Francisco, California 94105
Esther S. Hudes
Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, University of California, San Francisco, California 94105
Sam Adedapo
African Regional Health Education Center, Department of Health Promotion and Education, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Nigeria
Toyin Okikiolu
African Regional Health Education Center, Department of Health Promotion and Education, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Nigeria
Peter Lurie
Public Citizen’s Health Research Group, Washington, D.C.