Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Programme, Chichiri 3 Blantyre, Malawi.
J Int AIDS Soc. 2012 Jun 14;15 Suppl 1(Suppl 1):1-9. doi: 10.7448/IAS.15.3.17364.
In Southern Malawi, the fishing industry is highly gendered, with men carrying out the fishing and women processing, drying and selling the fish. Research has shown that individuals living in fishing communities in low-income countries are particularly vulnerable to HIV infection. One of the key drivers of HIV in fishing communities is transactional sex. In the fishing industry this takes the form of "fish-for-sex" networks where female fish traders exchange sex with fishermen for access to or more favourable prices of fish. By controlling the means of production, the power dynamics in these exchanges favour men and can make it more difficult for women to negotiate safe sex.
Qualitative methods were used to collect data on gendered drivers of transactional sex in the fishing community and how different groups perceive HIV risk in these transactions. Observation, focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews were undertaken with members of the fishing communities, including men and women directly and indirectly involved in fishing.
In fishing communities transactional sex was prevalent across a spectrum ranging from gift giving within relationships, to sex for fish exchanges, to sex worker encounters. Power differences between couples in transactional sexual encounters shape individual's abilities to negotiate condom use (with women being at a particularly disadvantaged negotiating position). The context and motivations for transactional sex varied and was mediated by economic need and social position both of men and women. Female fish traders new to the industry and boat crew members who travelled for work and experienced difficult living conditions often engaged in transactional sex.
Transactional sex is common in Malawian fishing communities, with women particularly vulnerable in negotiations because of existing gendered power structures. Although knowledge and understanding of the HIV risk associated with transactional sex was common, this did not appear to result in the adoption of risk reduction strategies. This suggests that specially targeted strategies to increase women's economic empowerment and tackle the structural drivers of women's HIV risk could be important in fishing communities.
在马拉维南部，渔业高度性别化，男性从事捕鱼工作，女性则负责对鱼进行加工、晾晒和销售。研究表明，生活在低收入国家渔业社区的个体尤其容易感染 HIV。导致渔业社区中 HIV 传播的一个关键因素是易发生交易性行为。在渔业中，这种行为表现为“以鱼换性”网络，即女性鱼贩用性换取渔民的鱼，以获得或更优惠的鱼价。由于控制了生产资料，这些交易中的权力动态对男性有利，使女性更难以协商安全性行为。
采用定性方法收集有关渔业社区中易发生交易性行为的性别驱动因素以及不同群体如何看待这些交易中的 HIV 风险的数据。对渔业社区的成员（包括直接和间接参与捕鱼的男性和女性）进行了观察、焦点小组讨论和半结构化访谈。
在渔业社区中，易发生交易性行为的情况普遍存在，从恋爱关系中的礼物馈赠，到鱼换性的交易，再到性工作者的遭遇。交易性行为中伴侣之间的权力差异影响了个体协商使用避孕套的能力（女性处于特别不利的协商地位）。交易性行为的背景和动机各不相同，并受到男性和女性的经济需求和社会地位的影响。新来渔业行业的女性鱼贩和因工作而外出、生活条件艰苦的船员往往会发生易发生交易性行为。
在马拉维渔业社区中，易发生交易性行为很普遍，由于现有的性别权力结构，女性在谈判中处于特别脆弱的地位。尽管人们普遍了解和认识到与易发生交易性行为相关的 HIV 风险，但这似乎并没有导致采取减少风险的策略。这表明，针对增加女性经济赋权和解决女性 HIV 风险的结构性驱动因素的特别有针对性的策略，在渔业社区中可能很重要。
