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“A Bull Cannot be Contained in a Single Kraal”: Concurrent Sexual Partnerships in Botswana

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Abstract

To inform efforts to curb HIV in Botswana, we describe sexual concurrency and related norms and behaviors among a sample of 807 Batswana age 15–49 years who participated in a 2003 population-based survey. Of 546 sexually active respondents, 23% reported ever having a concurrent sexual partnership with any of the last three partners from the last 12 months. Multivariate analysis found that men and youth (age <25 years), and non-religious people were more likely than their respective counterparts to report concurrency. Respondents reporting concurrency were more likely than those not, to have norms that support multiple partnerships and report low self-efficacy to be faithful to one partner. However, a majority of both groups reported believing that fidelity is important and that they would be looked down upon by family and friends if discovered to have multiple partnerships. The findings suggest that concurrency in Botswana is not uncommon, and yet may not be generally acceptable.

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Notes

  1. Comparative figures from the 2004 Botswana AIDS Impact Survey were unavailable at the time of writing.

  2. The 7 districts included Gaborone, Francistown, Selebi-Phikwe, Ngamiland East, Serowe/Palapye, Southern, and Kgatleng. The survey was given non-research determination by CDC.

  3. Three respondents reported concurrency this way and were missing information on the other concurrency question, and two respondents had contradictory responses between the two questions. They all were coded as reporting a concurrent relationship.

  4. Yet, without knowing more about the other risks that those reporting and not reporting concurrency might have taken, this comparison should be interpreted with caution.

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Acknowledgments

The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The authors would like to thank Katina Pappas-DeLuca, Douglas Fleming, and other reviewers of this manuscript. The title comes from a Setswana proverb, “Monna poo ga a agelwe mosako,” which means “Bulls cannot be contained in a single (or weak) kraal (corral).” This proverb is used to convey an acceptance that men will stray sexually, if given the chance.

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Correspondence to Marion W. Carter.

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Carter, M.W., Kraft, J.M., Koppenhaver, T. et al. “A Bull Cannot be Contained in a Single Kraal”: Concurrent Sexual Partnerships in Botswana. AIDS Behav 11, 822–830 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-006-9203-6

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