std-hiv-aids-2017-posters-accepted-abstracts

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International Journal of HIV and AIDS research

International Conference on

Sexually Transmitted Diseases, AIDS and Parasitic Infections

Parasitology, Infectious Diseases, STDs and STIs

September 21-22, 2017 San Antonio, TX, USA

Risky sexual behavior among women: Does economic empowerment matter? case of

Gabon, Mozambique, Sierra-Leone and Zambia

Clifford O Odimegwu, Nicole De Wet

and

Pamela C Banda

Ministry of General Education, Zambia

he link between economic empowerment and high risky sexual behavior has been debated by different

scholars in various settings. However, no consistently clear connection between poverty and lack of

education has been found regarding engagement in risky sexual behavior. Also, not much research has been done

to examine the strength of these relationships for adolescents and women. The objectives of this study were to

assess the relationship between female economic empowerment and risky sexual behavior in Africa. Using the

latest Demographic and Health Surveys Data (DHS 2011–2014) from Gabon, Mozambique, Sierra Leone and

Zambia, univariate, bivariate and multivariate analysis was done on women aged 15 to 49 to examine the patterns

of and differences in the association between women’s economic empowerment and risky sexual behavior. The

findings both at community and individual level indicate that empowered women (higher education and wealth

household) and adolescents aged 15 to 19 are highly significantly associated with engagement in high risky

behavior. The result of this study stresses the need to look further than individual factors in the quest to resolve

risky sexual behavior in Africa. The interrelations between female economic empowerment and engagement in

risky sexual behavior are more complicated and less straightforward than usually presumed.