Transactional, Age-Disparate and Multiple Concurrent Sexual Relations and the Spread of HIV/AIDS

HIV/AIDS
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HIV/AIDs
Discuss briefly how transactional, age-disparate and multiple concurrent sexual relations
contribute to the spread of HIV/AIDS. In your answer address the socio-economic and
gender implications of such relationships in the place of work.
Introduction
HIV/AIDs were discovered in the world in the 1980s with some five young homosexuals. This
was not before other complicated, strange diseases begun to be reported in the United States and
later termed Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDs). It was not until 1986 after other
cases were reported that the virus causingAIDs was discovered and termed Human
Immunodeficiency Syndrome (HIV)(Calvin & Robin 2010). This paper discusses the social-
economic and gender implications of transactional, age-disparate and concurrent sexual relations
and how they are causing the spread of HIV/AIDs.
Transactional sex is a non-marital relationship and is common in old with young, especially
young girls and older men where the man becomes the provider, and the woman offers sex in
exchange. The current world also has an alarming rate of college going young men entering
transactional sex with older women who are wealthy and can provide for them in exchange for
sex(Sovran, 2013). This type of relationship has no connection between the two individuals
involved as it is only meant for a period and can include multiple partners who are looking for
sexual favors in exchange of gift and money (Piece & Women, 2012). It is equally as prostitution
and the only difference being the person expecting gift or money favors has no predetermined
exchange value. Transactional sex relation is a risk behavior of acquiring HIV/AIDS since it

involves multiple partners not responsible for their actions and is not limited to having intimate
with only a particular group of people("Transactional and Age Disparate Sex in Hyperendemic
Countries," 2018)
According to a study, young girls than boys aged between 15-24 are more infected due to
engaging in sex with older men with families for a gift in exchange for sex mostly in Uganda.
The prevalence of HIV in young people in Uganda according to the study is 2.7% of young men
and 6.2% of women who were sexually active (Higgins, Hoffman & Dworkin,2010).
Age-disparate sex relation is similar to transactional sex relation, but the difference is that this
type may be more intimate than the transactional kind of sex. Here young women engage in sex
or marital relationship with men older than them by years or so. It may be for the exchange of
money or for acquiring marital status (Choudhry, Ambresin, Nyakato & Agardh, 2015).
This has also been said to cause the intergenerational spread of HIV/AIDS as ladies engaging in
sex with older men too will have intimate relations with their peers who are men. Young men
(boyfriends) are likely to get infected in this case. Young women prefer this kind of relationship
for financial gain and in addition to the belief they have that older man are more mature,
experienced emotionally and financially stable than men in their peer age comfortable
("Transactional and Age Disparate Sex in Hyperendemic Countries", 2018)They also feel more
protected and secure in these relationships. This has mostly been identified in Sub-Saharan
Africa. The assumption that women are likely to die faster than men due to their low life
expectancy is the primary trigger of this phenomena in many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Multiple concurrent sexual relations may be referred to as those sexual relationships with two or
more sexual partners who are likely to overlap. This is influenced by individuals' concurrent