"I found myself having slept with him" : vulnerability to HIV and the first sexual encounter as described by six young Basotho women
This study is a qualitative exploration of the first sexual experiences of six young Basotho women between the ages of 16 and 24 and how these experiences leave them vulnerable to HIV/AIDS. The six young women were interviewed using a semistructured interview schedule focusing on first sexual experiences and knowledge of HIV/AIDS. The interviews were recorded, transcribed and translated from Sesotho into English. Transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis. The themes which emerged were elucidated by linking the findings to the current literature on the vulnerability of young women to HIV/AIDS infection in sub-Saharan Africa. The dominant themes which emerged were: young women are engaging in sexual activity in early adolescence when issues of identity are still being negotiated, they have had little if any opportunity to discuss sex, love and intimacy and to develop their own thoughts about these issues, almost no guidance is offered by parents, teachers or other adults in these matters, peers and siblings are the main source of information and influenced these young women's attitudes towards sex, there was a high level of pressure and coercion by the young women's partners to have sex, there was a disturbing lack of knowledge of reproductive health and misconceptions about the prevention and spread of sexually transmitted infections and HIV/AIDS.
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