Susser IS, Lee RB; International Conference on AIDS (15th : 2004 : Bangkok, Thailand).

Int Conf AIDS. 2004 Jul 11-16; 15: abstract no. WePeD6327.

Columbia University/City University of New York, New York City, United States

Description: The Ju/'hoansi, a former hunting and gathering people in Botswana and Namibia, live in two of the countries at the epicenter of Africa's AIDS epidemic. Yet our ethnographic research between 1996-2001 indicated that their estimated rates of HIV were 75-90 per cent lower than the national seropositive rates of 38 per cent in Botswana and 22.5 per cent for Namibia. What has accounted for this remarkable non-conformity to regional norms? Living far from the major truck routes and urban centers, the Ju/'hoansi's isolation must have played a part in maintaining their lower rates. But the major factor usually invoked has centered around the relative strength and autonomy of women. The Ju/'hoansi are famous in the annals of social anthropology for their lack of gender hierarchy. On AIDS-relevant variables, measures such as frequency of condom use and women's ability to negotiate sexual terms, the Ju/'hoansi stand in marked contrast to the more patriarchal societies of their neighbors where women's ability to negotiate safe sex is severely constrained. Issues: Recent ethnographic research conducted in 2003, however, has yielded evidence that the conditions favoring the control of AIDS transmission may be in jeopardy. As shebeens are newly proliferating to serve itinerant workers, a significant proportion of whom are already HIV-positive, a cohort of younger Ju women are establishing transient sexual liaisons, often for small sums of money or drink. Lessons learned: While a majority of the Ju women continue to exercise control over their sexuality, the result of the increased access to alcohol and the sexual exchanges accompanying this, could be a rapid upward climb in HIV. Recommendations: The paper will examine these new threats to the collective well-being of the Ju/'hoansi, the alignment of social and economic forces accelerating the spread of AIDS, and finally what possible countervailing forces could be marshaled to slow or reverse this tragic spiral.

Publication Types:

• Meeting Abstracts

Keywords:

• Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
• Africa
• Botswana
• Demography
• Disease Outbreaks
• Female
• Fractures, Bone
• HIV Infections
• HIV Seropositivity
• Humans
• Namibia
• Research
• Safe Sex
• Sexual Behavior
• Social Behavior
• organization & administration

Other ID:

• GWAIDS0040028

UI: 102284244

From Meeting Abstracts