MacPherson, Eleanor E, Phiri, Mackwellings, Sadalaki, John, Nyongopa, Victoria, Desmond, Nicola 
ORCID: 0000-0002-2874-8569, Mwapasa, Victor, Lalloo, David G ORCID: 0000-0001-7680-2200, Seeley, Janet and Theobald, Sally
(2020)
Sex, power, marginalisation and HIV amongst young fishermen in Malawi: Exploring intersecting inequalities.
SOCIAL SCIENCE & MEDICINE, 266.
113429-.
Abstract
Through scale-up of effective treatment and prevention, HIV incidence rates are falling across Southern and Eastern Africa. However, key population groups, including people living in fishing communities, continue to face an elevated risk of infection and have high rates of undiagnosed disease. We set out to investigate how intersecting inequalities make young fishermen working on the southern shores of Lake Malawi particularly vulnerable to HIV-infection. We used qualitative research methods including observations (over a 15-month period), in-depth interviews (59) and focus group discussions (16) with a range of male and female participants living and working in two fishing villages. We found that the roles that men occupied in the fishing industry depended on several factors, including their age, socio-economic position and the amount of experience they had in the industry. In turn these roles shaped their lives, including exposure to occupational risks, mobility, living conditions, economic remuneration and social standing within the community. In this context, younger and poorer men occupied roles with the lowest social standing in the industry. Nevertheless, in these communities where poverty was pervasive, young fishermen were able to exert the power they gained through access to money and fish over poorer younger women - pressuring them into sex and increasing the risk of HIV for both men and women. Drawing on an intersectionality framework, we contextualised these findings to consider how young men's social location, relationships and experiences of both privilege and marginalisation were shaped by broader economic and political processes. We conclude that interventions to prevent HIV in fishing communities need to address how power plays out in the broader social and economic environment.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Gender theory, Malawi, HIV, Fishing communities, Intersectionality, Masculinity |
| Divisions: | Faculty of Health and Life Sciences Faculty of Health and Life Sciences > Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences |
| Depositing User: | Symplectic Admin |
| Date Deposited: | 10 Jun 2021 09:00 |
| Last Modified: | 18 Jan 2023 22:35 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113429 |
| Open Access URL: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113429 |
| Related URLs: | |
| URI: | https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3125842 |
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