'True love' shock in sex survey
2007-11-15 22:30
Johannesburg - Fidelity doesn't necessarily mean you're in an exclusive relationship, but rather that you don't get caught sleeping around, says a survey.
This was one of the findings by NGO researchers of Cadre, who did interviews with 72 youths in the Eastern Cape, Gauteng, the Northern Cape, Western Cape and Mpumalanga.
Medical anthropologist Ben Makhubele said on Thursday at the Gauteng Aids conference that researchers had carried out in-depth interviews to find out more about the views of youths on HIV/Aids and sexual relationships.
They were shocked to find that most youngsters - both male and female - viewed it as quite normal to have multiple contacts.
One was your "important" partner, the youths explained, and the rest were individuals that you didn't plan to include in your long-term life plans.
The researchers found there was little thought of intimacy, love or respect for the lesser bed-partners.
The youths said "being faithful" was all about protecting your important partner's feelings.
One said: "I'm faithful to her, because, although I go out with other girls, I won't do it where she might see me."
28% of kids claim forced sex
Makhubele pointed out that in a community were there were a few "players" (people with multiple partners), everyone became part of the same sexual network in the end.
Other research papers revealed that taxi drivers, schoolchildren and school leavers knew quite a bit about HIV/Aids, but they did not apply their knowledge.
Nearly one in three women in South Africa were unable to insist on their partners using condoms.
In other research, it was found about 28% of schoolchildren claimed they had been forced to have sex at least once.