You are looked upon as a luxury tool: Young Tanzanian women’s perception of community norms supporting partner violence during transactional sex
Outcomes: Gender‑Based Violence, Human Immunodeficiency Virus
View SourceKey Social Norms Take-aways The article highlights that harmful gender norms — including the normalization of male control and violence, the double standards around women’s sexuality, and the stigma against transactional sex — underpin women’s vulnerability in kudanga relationships. Addressing these social norms through community-wide engagement, shifting gender power dynamics, and reducing stigma is essential for making transactional sex practices safer and improving young women’s agency and well-being.
Objectives This study explored how young women in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, perceive community norms around kudanga, a form of transactional sex where women seek money or goods from men, sometimes without intending to provide sex in return. It examined how these norms intersect with gender-based violence and affect women’s agency and vulnerability.
Methods Researchers conducted six focus group discussions with 37 adolescent girls and young women from low-income urban communities, using qualitative thematic analysis to explore definitions of kudanga, reasons for engaging in it, perceived community attitudes, and links to gender-based violence.
Results The study found that although kudanga is widely practiced, it is heavily stigmatized; women who engage in it are viewed as sex workers and “despised” by the community, while men are not judged similarly. Participants described that once material goods or money are exchanged, women lose the power to negotiate conditions, including condom use, and risk violence if they try to withhold sex. Community norms normalize violence against women who are perceived as not fulfilling their end of these transactions. Despite these risks, many women saw kudanga as a necessary or even strategic way to survive economically or improve their social status, especially given limited job opportunities.
Conclusions The study concludes that interventions aiming to reduce HIV risk and gender-based violence cannot focus solely on girls and women. To reduce harms linked to transactional sex, programs must address the community-level norms that stigmatize women and uphold male dominance, while also expanding economic opportunities for women.
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