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The condom is an 'intruder' in marriage: Evidence from rural Malawi

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  • Chimbiri, Agnes M.

Abstract

This paper assesses the condom situation within marriage in Malawi with particular attention to people's perceptions about the compatibility of condoms and marriage by analyzing the Malawi Demographic and Health Surveys 1992 and 2000, and via semi-structured interviews with married men and women from three districts in rural Malawi. There are four striking findings. First, condom use is negligible inside marriage. Second, there is considerable talk about condoms, especially among male social network partners. Third, virtually all the discussion of condoms, by both men and women, is in the context of preventing STI/HIV-AIDS infection in extramarital partnerships. Lastly, and critical for this paper, is that initiating a discussion of condom use for preventing infection in marriage is like bringing an intruder into the domestic space. Thus, there is evidence that change in attitudes about condom use may be occurring, but only outside marriage. This evidence concurs with Malawian government policy that advocates for condom use in marriage only if either spouse has more than one sexual partner. The AIDS epidemic is therefore bringing sexual behavior change outside marriage and not within.

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  • Chimbiri, Agnes M., 2007. "The condom is an 'intruder' in marriage: Evidence from rural Malawi," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 64(5), pages 1102-1115, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:64:y:2007:i:5:p:1102-1115
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    1. Hans-Peter Kohler & Jere Behrman & Susan Watkins, 2000. "Empirical Assessments of Social Networks, Fertility and Family Planning Programs," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 3(7).
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    Cited by:

    1. Aureo de Paula & Gil Shapira & Petra E. Todd, 2008. "How Beliefs about HIV Status Affect Risky Behaviors: Evidence from Malawi, Fifth Version," PIER Working Paper Archive 10-023, Penn Institute for Economic Research, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania, revised 10 Jul 2010.
    2. Adeline Delavande, 2012. "HIV/AIDS-related Expectations and Risky Sexual Behavior in Malawi," 2012 Meeting Papers 90, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    3. Jeremy Greenwood & Philipp Kircher & Cezar Santos & Michèle Tertilt, 2019. "An Equilibrium Model of the African HIV/AIDS Epidemic," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 87(4), pages 1081-1113, July.
    4. Manuela Angelucci & Daniel Bennett, 2021. "Adverse Selection in the Marriage Market: HIV Testing and Marriage in Rural Malawi [Marrying Up: The Role of Sex Ratio in Assortative Matching]," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 88(5), pages 2119-2148.
    5. Paul Mkandawire & Isaac Luginaah & Rachel Bezner-Kerr, 2011. "Deadly divide: Malawi’s policy debate on HIV/AIDS and condoms," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 44(1), pages 81-102, March.
    6. Mojola, Sanyu A. & Williams, Jill & Angotti, Nicole & Gómez-Olivé, F. Xavier, 2015. "HIV after 40 in rural South Africa: A life course approach to HIV vulnerability among middle aged and older adults," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 204-212.
    7. Anglewicz, Philip & Clark, Shelley, 2013. "The effect of marriage and HIV risks on condom use acceptability in rural Malawi," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 29-40.
    8. Parijat Chakrabarti & Margaret Frye, 2017. "A mixed-methods framework for analyzing text data: Integrating computational techniques with qualitative methods in demography," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 37(42), pages 1351-1382.
    9. Julia Cordero Coma, 2013. "When the group encourages extramarital sex," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 28(30), pages 849-880.
    10. Godswill N. Osuafor & Sonto Maputle & Natal Ayiga & Akim J. Mturi, 2018. "Condom use among married and cohabiting women and its implications for HIV infection in Mahikeng, South Africa," Journal of Population Research, Springer, vol. 35(1), pages 41-65, March.
    11. Adeline Delavande & Hans-Peter Kohler, 2009. "Subjective expectations in the context of HIV/AIDS in Malawi," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 20(31), pages 817-875.
    12. Michelle Poulin & Adamson S. Muula, 2011. "An inquiry into the uneven distribution of women’s HIV infection in rural Malawi," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 25(28), pages 869-902.
    13. Poulin, Michelle, 2007. "Sex, money, and premarital partnerships in southern Malawi," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 65(11), pages 2383-2393, December.
    14. Adeline Delavande & Hans-Peter Kohler, 2012. "The Impact of HIV Testing on Subjective Expectations and Risky Behavior in Malawi," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 49(3), pages 1011-1036, August.
    15. Sterck Olivier, 2013. "Why are Testing Rates so Low in Sub-Saharan Africa? Misconceptions and Strategic Behaviors," Forum for Health Economics & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 16(1), pages 219-257, September.
    16. Bornstein, Marta & Gipson, Jessica D. & Failing, Gates & Banda, Venson & Norris, Alison, 2020. "Individual and community-level impact of infertility-related stigma in Malawi," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 251(C).
    17. Gerritzen, Berit C., 2014. "Intra-Household Bargaining Power and HIV Prevention: Empirical Evidence from Married Couples in Rural Malawi," Economics Working Paper Series 1408, University of St. Gallen, School of Economics and Political Science.
    18. Nicole Angotti & Margaret Frye & Amy Kaler & Michelle Poulin & Susan Cotts Watkins & Sara Yeatman, 2014. "Popular Moralities and Institutional Rationalities in Malawi's Struggle Against AIDS," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 40(3), pages 447-473, September.
    19. Packel, Laura & Dow, William H. & de Walque, Damien & Isdahl, Zachary & Majura, Albert, 2012. "Sexual behavior change intentions and actions in the context of a randomized trial of a conditional cash transfer for HIV prevention in Tanzania," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5997, The World Bank.
    20. Desgrées-du-Loû, Annabel & Brou, Hermann & Traore, Annick Tijou & Djohan, Gerard & Becquet, Renaud & Leroy, Valeriane, 2009. "From prenatal HIV testing of the mother to prevention of sexual HIV transmission within the couple," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 69(6), pages 892-899, September.
    21. Cordero Coma, Julia, 2014. "HIV prevention and marriage: Peer group effects on condom use acceptability in rural Kenya," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 169-177.
    22. Rebecca L. Thornton & Hans-Peter Kohler, 2017. "Making marriages last: trust is good, but credible information is better," WIDER Working Paper Series 173, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).

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