Mobility, sexual networks and exchange among bodabodamen in southwest Uganda

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Date
2004Author
Nyanzi, Stella
Nyanzi, Barbara
Kalina, Bessie
Pool, Robert
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Show full item recordAbstract
In order to examine the sexual behaviour of a highly mobile social group, qualitative data
and quantitative data were elicited from 212 private motorbike taxi-men, locally called
bodabodamen, from two study sites in Masaka, Uganda. Selection criteria were availability
and willingness to participate in the study. Research techniques employed were a
questionnaire, focus group discussions, in-depth interviews and case studies. Findings
indicate that bodabodamen are a highly mobile group who engage in frequent seasonal
rural-urban migration. Consequent to this, bodabodamen have a wide network of both
occasional and regular sexual partnerships. Both serial and concurrent multiple partnerships
are with adults, youths, widows, students, sugar-mummies, barmaids, commercial
sex workers, tailors. Exchange plays a significant role in sexual negotiations but the act of
giving to a sexual partner is ambivalent in its social interpretation. Since bodabodamen have
regular access to cash, they have higher bargaining power for sex. Implications for HIV/
AIDS prevention are discussed.
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- Social Sciences [945]