MRC/UVRI and LSHTM Uganda Research Unit, Entebbe, Uganda.
Global Health and Development Department, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom.
PLoS One. 2022 Aug 31;17(8):e0273298. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0273298. eCollection 2022.
Many women who engage in sex work in sub-Saharan Africa become pregnant, often unintentionally. There is limited attention paid to the experiences of fathers of children born to women engaged in sex work. We examine the meaning of fatherhood to these men, the significance of children, and how they navigate the economic and cultural challenges of fatherhood in this context. Analysis is based on ethnographic data from 13 men who identified as intimate long-term partners of female sex workers (FSW) in Kampala City, Uganda. Our findings illustrate how men who have children with FSW struggled to model the traditional parameters of fatherhood and masculinity. We found that men who had children with FSW faced hurdles fitting within the social construction of ideal fatherhood. Accepting fatherhood often started with doubts over the pregnancy because of the multiple partnerships of women. Men who only saw themselves as clients struggled to adjust to being fathers because of their perceptions of the social implications of fathering a child with a FSW. Integration of mothers who were also sex workers into the man's extended family was a challenge because of the fear of negative reactions from family members. However, when men accepted their roles as fathers, they started seeing value in their children. Due to poverty, most of the men fell short of the societal measures of masculinity, but children transformed their social status before their society and family. The provider role often used to define good fathering was a challenge for men. However, the financial support from FSW partners softened the burden and facilitated the creation of a family environment constructed to the perceived standards of the broader society. Our findings provide insights into the state of parenting among FSW and their partners which can guide interventions that are tailored to their unique circumstances.
许多在撒哈拉以南非洲从事性工作的女性怀孕，往往是意外怀孕。人们对从事性工作的女性的孩子的父亲的经历关注有限。我们研究了这些男性对父亲身份的理解、孩子的意义，以及他们如何在这种情况下应对经济和文化方面的父亲身份挑战。分析基于在乌干达坎帕拉市的 13 名自认为是女性性工作者（FSW）亲密长期伴侣的男性的民族志数据。我们的研究结果表明，与 FSW 育有子女的男性努力模仿传统的父权制和男子气概的参数。我们发现，与 FSW 育有子女的男性在符合理想父亲身份的社会建构方面面临障碍。接受父亲身份往往始于对怀孕的怀疑，因为女性有多个伴侣。那些只把自己视为客户的男性很难适应成为父亲，因为他们认为与 FSW 育有孩子会带来社会影响。由于担心来自家庭成员的负面反应，将同样从事性工作的母亲融入男性大家庭是一个挑战。然而，当男性接受自己作为父亲的角色时，他们开始看到自己孩子的价值。由于贫困，大多数男性都未能达到社会对男子气概的衡量标准，但孩子改变了他们在社会和家庭中的社会地位。提供者角色通常用于定义良好的养育方式，但对男性来说是一个挑战。然而，FSW 伴侣的经济支持减轻了负担，为建立一个符合更广泛社会感知标准的家庭环境提供了便利。我们的研究结果提供了有关 FSW 及其伴侣育儿状况的见解，可以指导针对他们独特情况的干预措施。
