Back to Annual Meeting

Back to Annual Meeting

APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Wendee M. Wechsberg, PhD, Kyla Marie Sawyer, PhD, Rhonda Karg, PhD, and Winnie Luseno, MA. Substance Abuse Treatment Evaluations and Interventions, RTI International, 3040 Cornwallis Rd, P.O. Box 12194, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-2194, 919-541-6422, wmw@rti.org

To further understand HIV risks and men's relationships with women, substance abuse, and violence, focus groups were conducted in communities near Cape Town, South Africa. Twenty-nine out of 33 reported multiple sex partners. All had used alcohol, a large majority had consumed marijuana, and half abused methamphetamine. Most men reported that they prefer to be in the position of power in their relationships and they did not like their main partners to use drugs or drink or be in the tavern. However, these men reported that having sex with women was easier when they could provide women with drugs and alcohol. Use of drugs and alcohol was reported to increase the likelihood of violence and rape against women. Coloured men reported that a woman who is heavily under the influence of drugs is an easy 'target' for gang rape and that the rape is her fault. They reported organizing methamphetamine use and getting a woman high until she 'passed out' so to rape her all night. Although both the Black/African and Coloured men were able to describe safer sex behaviors and name the symptoms of HIV/AIDS and STIs, they were not consistently using condoms when using drugs and having sex with casual or trading partners. While these men knew that they were at risk for contracting HIV and STIs because of their risky sexual behavior, they were not using condoms when having sex with their main partners. Their voices around these themes will be shared.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will learn what drugs men abuse in the townships of Cape Town and how this association is related to violence against women.
• Participants will begin to understand traditional cultural power dynamics of men relative to women’s sexual risk in South Africa.

Keywords: Alcohol, Violence

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation