Forced sexual experiences as risk factor for self-reported HIV infection among southern African lesbian and bisexual women

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dc.contributor.authorSandfort, Theo G Men_ZA
dc.contributor.authorBaumann, Linda R Men_ZA
dc.contributor.authorMatebeni, Zethuen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorReddy, Vasuen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorSouthey-Swartz, Ianen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2015-12-28T06:48:16Z
dc.date.available2015-12-28T06:48:16Z
dc.date.issued2013en_ZA
dc.description.abstractEven though women who have sex with women are usually understood to be at no or very low risk for HIV infection, we explored whether lesbian and bisexual women in a geographical area with high HIV prevalence (Southern Africa) get tested for HIV and whether, among those women who get tested, there are women who live with HIV/AIDS. The study was conducted in collaboration with community-based organizations in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Data were collected via written surveys of women who in the preceding year had had sex with a woman (18 years and older; N = 591). Most participating women identified as lesbian and black. Almost half of the women (47.2%) reported ever having had consensual heterosexual sex. Engagement in transactional sex (lifetime) was reported by 18.6% of all women. Forced sex by men or women was reported by 31.1% of all women. A large proportion of the women reported to ever have been tested for HIV (78.3%); number of lifetime female and male partners was independently associated with having been tested; women who had engaged in transactional sex with women only or with women and men were less likely to have been tested. Self-reported HIV prevalence among tested women who knew their serostatus was 9.6%. Besides age, the sole independent predictor of a positive serostatus was having experienced forced sex by men, by women, or by both men and women. Study findings indicate that despite the image of invulnerability, HIV/AIDS is a reality for lesbian and bisexual women in Southern Africa. Surprisingly, it is not sex with men per se, but rather forced sex that is the important risk factor for self-reported HIV infection among the participating women. HIV/AIDS policy should also address the needs of lesbian, bisexual and other women who have sex with women.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationSandfort, T. G. M., Baumann, L. R. M., Matebeni, Z., Reddy, V., & Southey-Swartz, I. (2013). Forced sexual experiences as risk factor for self-reported HIV infection among southern African lesbian and bisexual women. <i>PLoS One</i>, http://hdl.handle.net/11427/16057en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationSandfort, Theo G M, Linda R M Baumann, Zethu Matebeni, Vasu Reddy, and Ian Southey-Swartz "Forced sexual experiences as risk factor for self-reported HIV infection among southern African lesbian and bisexual women." <i>PLoS One</i> (2013) http://hdl.handle.net/11427/16057en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationSandfort, T. G., Baumann, L. R., Matebeni, Z., Reddy, V., & Southey-Swartz, I. (2012). Forced sexual experiences as risk factor for self-reported HIV infection among southern African lesbian and bisexual women. PloS one, 8(1), e53552. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0053552en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Journal Article AU - Sandfort, Theo G M AU - Baumann, Linda R M AU - Matebeni, Zethu AU - Reddy, Vasu AU - Southey-Swartz, Ian AB - Even though women who have sex with women are usually understood to be at no or very low risk for HIV infection, we explored whether lesbian and bisexual women in a geographical area with high HIV prevalence (Southern Africa) get tested for HIV and whether, among those women who get tested, there are women who live with HIV/AIDS. The study was conducted in collaboration with community-based organizations in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Data were collected via written surveys of women who in the preceding year had had sex with a woman (18 years and older; N = 591). Most participating women identified as lesbian and black. Almost half of the women (47.2%) reported ever having had consensual heterosexual sex. Engagement in transactional sex (lifetime) was reported by 18.6% of all women. Forced sex by men or women was reported by 31.1% of all women. A large proportion of the women reported to ever have been tested for HIV (78.3%); number of lifetime female and male partners was independently associated with having been tested; women who had engaged in transactional sex with women only or with women and men were less likely to have been tested. Self-reported HIV prevalence among tested women who knew their serostatus was 9.6%. Besides age, the sole independent predictor of a positive serostatus was having experienced forced sex by men, by women, or by both men and women. Study findings indicate that despite the image of invulnerability, HIV/AIDS is a reality for lesbian and bisexual women in Southern Africa. Surprisingly, it is not sex with men per se, but rather forced sex that is the important risk factor for self-reported HIV infection among the participating women. HIV/AIDS policy should also address the needs of lesbian, bisexual and other women who have sex with women. DA - 2013 DB - OpenUCT DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0053552 DP - University of Cape Town J1 - PLoS One LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2013 T1 - Forced sexual experiences as risk factor for self-reported HIV infection among southern African lesbian and bisexual women TI - Forced sexual experiences as risk factor for self-reported HIV infection among southern African lesbian and bisexual women UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/16057 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/16057
dc.identifier.urihttp://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0053552
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationSandfort TGM, Baumann LRM, Matebeni Z, Reddy V, Southey-Swartz I. Forced sexual experiences as risk factor for self-reported HIV infection among southern African lesbian and bisexual women. PLoS One. 2013; http://hdl.handle.net/11427/16057.en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisherPublic Library of Scienceen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentInstitute for Humanities in Africaen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Humanitiesen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.rightsThis is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.en_ZA
dc.rights.holder© 2013 Sandfort et alen_ZA
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0en_ZA
dc.sourcePLoS Oneen_ZA
dc.source.urihttp://journals.plos.org/plosoneen_ZA
dc.subject.otherHIVen_ZA
dc.subject.otherHomosexualsen_ZA
dc.subject.otherAIDSen_ZA
dc.subject.otherRecreational drug useen_ZA
dc.subject.otherBisexualsen_ZA
dc.subject.otherAfricansen_ZA
dc.subject.otherHuman sexual behavioren_ZA
dc.subject.otherHIV infectionsen_ZA
dc.titleForced sexual experiences as risk factor for self-reported HIV infection among southern African lesbian and bisexual womenen_ZA
dc.typeJournal Articleen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceArticleen_ZA
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