Shanti A. Parikh ^1*

¹ Washington University in Saint Louis

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: shanti.parikh{at}wustl.edu.

	Abstract

Research has shown that married women’s greatest risk for HIV infection is their husbands’ extramarital sexual activities. On the basis of 6 months of ethnographic research in southeastern Uganda, I examined how the social and economic contexts surrounding men’s extramarital sexuality and the dynamics of marriage put men and women at risk for HIV infection.

I found that Uganda’s HIV prevention messages may be inadvertently contributing to increased difficulty in acknowledging HIV risk and to newer forms of sexual secrecy and that structural determinants, including persistent poverty, intersect with gender inequalities to shape marital risk. After examining a community effort to regulate men’s sexuality, I suggest that HIV prevention strategies should pay closer attention to endogenous forms of risk reduction while addressing structural factors that facilitate opportunities for men’s extramarital sex.

Key Words: Gender, Global Health, HIV/AIDS, Prevention, Sexual Health, Qualitative Research

This article has been cited by other articles:

				H. M. Phinney "Rice Is Essential but Tiresome; You Should Get Some Noodles": Doi Moi and the Political Economy of Men's Extramarital Sexual Relations and Marital HIV Risk in Hanoi, Vietnam Am J Public Health, April 1, 2008; 98(4): 650 - 660. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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