Objectives: To determine the prevalence of HIV infection, HIV risk factors, and exposure to national HIV prevention programs, and to identify factors associated with HIV infection among South African youth, aged 15–24 years. Design: A cross-sectional, nationally representative, household survey.
This paper compares the sexual behaviors of young people in South Africa (SA) and the United States (US) with the aim of better understanding the potential role of sexual behavior in HIV transmission in these two countries that have strikingly different HIV epidemics.
This study aimed to identify risk factors for HIV infection among women aged 15-24 years who reported having one lifetime sexual partner in South Africa. A 2003 household survey of 11,904 15-24 year old women on sexual behavior and HIV testing was used.
We examined the association of orphanhood and completion of compulsory school education among young people in South Africa. In South Africa, school attendance is compulsory through grade 9, which should be completed before age 16.
The papers explore some of the factors that are driving the current epidemic in southern Africa. These include the practice of age disparate and intergenerational sex; biological vulnerability of young women; economic empowerment; education and gender-based violence.