Cultural Background
Traditional Swazi culture discourages safe sexual practices, like condom use and monogamous relationships. There is a cultural belief in procreation to increase the population size, and Swazis believe a woman should have a minimum of five children and that a man's role is to impregnate as many partners as he can. Men may never get married but still have many children from multiple partners. The few men who do get married often practice polygamy. Sexual aggression is common, with 18% of sexually active high school students saying they were coerced into their first sexual encounter.
Many thousands of children have been orphaned by AIDS, and only 22% grow up in two-parent families.
Read more about this topic: HIV/AIDS In Swaziland
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