Condom Use in Uganda and Zimbabwe

An estimated 5 million new HIV/AIDS infections occurred in sub-Saharan Africa in 2003, most the result of heterosexual transmission (UNAIDS, 2003). Strategies to prevent the spread of HIV have focused on raising awareness of risk factors, promotion of condom use, reduction of numbers of sexual partners, treatment of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and postponement of first sex (Nduati and Kiai, 1997; Kim et al., 1997; Marcus, 1993). There is, however, an increasing appreciation that behavior and choices are shaped by not only what individuals know, but also by larger contextual factors that may limit or promote levels of personal control (Caldwell et al., 1999; Cohen and Trussell, 1996; Rosenstock and Strecher, 1994). It is therefore important to understand the wider sociocultural and economic forces, as well as the patterns of interpersonal power relations, that drive women’s and men’s susceptibility to HIV infection. The sociocultural construction of gender emerges as a key factor in these processes.