Sex, fish and stigma in Kenyan beach communities
Despite HIV/Aids being declared a national disaster in 1999, it still claims
thousands of Kenyans’ lives every year. Although the national prevalence rate is
8 per cent, places like Nyanza Province have a prevalence rate of 14 per cent.
The province borders Uganda and Tanzania and shares the waters of Lake Victoria
with the two countries. Its large number of beaches, some of the worst
flashpoints of HIV and AIDS, present health experts with a unique problem —
the jaboya system of sex for fish.
Bondo Town is located about 100km from Kisumu, Kenya’s third largest city, and has a vibrant beach community. Almost everybody here is in the fish business. The fish are weighed at the beach and transported in big trucks.
Ruth Anyango, a 50-year-old fishmonger at Uhanya Beach near Bondo, explains how the jaboya system came about.
“There’s a lot of poverty here on these beaches and this exposes the women to HIV and AIDS. The jaboya system is commonly practised. First the fishermen come with their catch. But we are so many sellers that there’s not enough for all of us. If you don’t get fish, your business will come to a standstill, so you’re forced to befriend the fishermen for them to give you fish.
“I got into the fish business when I was young and I had to befriend some of them. Now that I’m grown up I can say no. In 1994, I went for a HIV test and I learnt I was infected with the virus. Since then I’ve lived positively.
“My husband died of AIDS complications. I have children who have died as well — they never followed my instructions. The surviving children are HIV-positive so I have to help them live positively.”
Manas Osuru is a 37-year-old fisherman with two wives and five children.
“The women come from places you don’t know, they are beautiful and the fishermen are attracted to them. So you end up sleeping with women who haven’t been tested and who don’t know their status. That’s how HIV/AIDS is spread.”
A song and dance
But through a campaign funded by DFID and organised by the NGO, Merlin the
local community is grappling with the problem. Merlin has mobilised the
community to form a theatre group, which has in turn trained other groups. Using
participatory educational theatre, the locals perform skits, dances and songs
that revolve around HIV and AIDS and discuss ways of dealing with it.
George Omg’injo from Merlin explains:
“Our activities are targeted on behavioural change. When we scare them, when we say HIV kills, they don’t accept that, so we have to see what kind of message work. We try to encourage faithfulness but it’s not widely practiced here so we tune our messages on condom use.”
The monthly performances, which are held at the beach, are highly entertaining and pull large crowds, children and adults alike. When they coincide with the return of fishermen in the evening, they attract as many as 300 participants. After the plays, the audience is encouraged to ask questions and discuss issues like the dangers of the jaboya system.
“The Merlin campaign has brought a lot of change. People have changed their behaviour. Before there was stigma and people avoided going for Voluntary Counselling and Testing. Now lots of people go,” says Ruth Anyango.
Key Facts
- The Kenyan Government launched a national HIV and AIDS Strategic Plan 2000-2005 in December 2000. The national HIV prevalence is now estimated at 6.1%, down from around 12% in 2000.
- With 1.3 million people living with HIV, Kenya is still contending with a serious AIDS epidemic, despite evidence of declining HIV prevalence among pregnant women.
- DFID Kenya’s HIV and AIDS Prevention and Care Project (HAPAC) supports the National AIDS Control Council as well as a network of community based organisations working with injecting drug users.
- DFID Kenya is also working with United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to support the Kenyan Prison Service strengthen service provision for those with HIV and TB.
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Last Updated 28 November 2006
