Transactional sex and HIV: understanding the gendered structural drivers of HIV in fishing communities in Southern Malawi

Abstract

Transactional sex is common in Malawian fishing communities, with women particularly vulnerable in negotiations because of existing gendered power structures. Although knowledge and understanding of the HIV risk associated with transactional sex was common, this did not appear to result in the adoption of risk reduction strategies. This suggests that specially targeted strategies to increase women's economic empowerment and tackle the structural drivers of women's HIV risk could be important in fishing communities.