OBJECTIVE:
This
study sought to determine the prevalence of transactional sex among university
students in Uganda and to assess the possible relationship between
transactional sex and sexual coercion, physical violence, mental health, and
alcohol use.
METHODS:
In 2010,
1954 undergraduate students at a Ugandan university responded to a
self-administered questionnaire that assessed mental health, substance use,
physical violence and sexual behaviors including sexual coercion and
transactional sex. The prevalence of transactional sex was assessed and
logistic regression analysis was performed to measure the associations between
various risk factors and reporting transactional sex.
RESULTS:
Approximately
25% of the study sample reported having taken part in transactional sex, with
more women reporting having accepted money, gifts or some compensation for sex,
while more men reporting having paid, given a gift or otherwise compensated for
sex. Sexual coercion in men and women was significantly associated with having accepted
money, gifts or some compensation for sex. Men who were victims of physical
violence in the last 12 months had higher probability of having accepted money,
gifts or some compensation for sex than other men. Women who were victims of
sexual coercion reported greater likelihood of having paid, given a gift or
otherwise compensated for sex. Respondents who had been victims of physical
violence in last 12 months, engaged in heavy episodic drinking and had poor
mental health status were more likely to have paid, given a gift or otherwise
compensated for sex.
CONCLUSIONS:
University
students in Uganda are at high risk of transactional sex. Young men and women
may be equally vulnerable to the risks and consequences of transactional sex
and should be included in program initiatives to prevent transactional sex. The
role of sexual coercion, physical violence, mental health, and alcohol use
should be considered when designing interventions for countering transactional
sex.
Prevalence of transactional sex among sample of Ugandan university students, with chi square differences by gender.
Sexual Behaviorvariable | Categories | All (N = 1954)n (%) | Men (n = 1087)n (%) | Women (n = 867)n (%) | chi-squarep-value |
Exchanging sex byproviding or receiving gifts,money or compensation | No | 897 (74.6) | 443 (70.0) | 454 (79.8) | <0.001 |
| Yes | 305 (25.4) | 190 (30.0) | 115 (20.2) | |
| Missing | (752) | (454) | (298) | |
Exchanging sex byproviding gifts, moneyor compensation | No | 1115 (85.1) | 534 (77.3) | 581 (93.9) | <0.001 |
| Yes | 195 (14.9) | 157 (22.7) | 38.1 (6.1) | |
| Missing | (644) | (396) | (248) | |
Exchanging sex byreceiving gifts, moneyor compensation | No | 1123 (87.5) | 597 (89.9) | 526 (84.8) | <0.001 |
| Yes | 161 (12.5) | 67 (10.1) | 94 (15.2) | |
| Missing | (670) | (423) | (247) | |
Exchanging sex by bothreceiving and providing gifts,money or compensation* | | 51 (4.2) | 34 (5.4) | 17 (3.0) | <0.001 |
*Missing cases not included in analysis (n = 1202).
- 1Division of Social Medicine and Global Health, Department of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden.
- 2Multidisciplinary unit for Adolescent Health, Department of Pediatrics, Lausanne University Hospital- CHUV, Lausanne, Switzerland.
- 3Department of Dean of Students, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda.
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