Increased heterosexual transmission of HIV among young women and their difficulties with safer sex communication calls for women-focused research.
This qualitative phenomenological study explored the meaning and lived experiences of women, as part of larger pre-dissertation pilot on health protective sexual communication among young women in Gaborone, Botswana. Twenty women participated in individual in-depth interviews conducted in Setswana, tape-recorded, transcribed verbatim, translated into English for line by line analysis to extract themes and subthemes.
Six main themes and nine subthemes emerged from the data. Batswana women communicate with their male sexual partners about safer sex but face some difficulties. The AIDS epidemic is taking a toll on women and girls worldwide.
Globally the epidemic is increasing rapidly among women than men []. Of the 44 million people living with the infection worldwide, It is also estimated that globally, for every 10 men, 12 - 13 women are infected. In addition, the problem is more prevalent among young women aged 15 - 25 years who are about three times more likely than young men of their age to be living with HIV.
Botswana has a high HIV sero-prevalence of In the absence of a cure the control of the epidemic will have to depend largely on the prevention strategies health protective sexual communication with their male sexual, to enhance risk reduction [].
