Transactional sex and associated factors among female students in technical and vocational education and training colleges found in jimma town, jimma, southwest Ethiopia

Abstract

ackground: Young women in sub-Saharan Africa are three to four times more likely to be HIVpositive than their men counter parts. Transactional sex is one of the driving factors identified to contribute to this difference. However, little is known about transactional sex and associated factors among young women in Ethiopia and particularly in the study area. Objective: To determine the prevalence of transactional sex and associated factors among female students incolleges found in Jimma town, March, 2018 Methods:A Cross-sectional study was conducted in five colleges found in Jimma town on March 15, 2018. Simple random sampling technique was used to sample from each college to recruit study subjects. Descriptive, bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed. To declare the association between independent and outcome variable p-value of less than .05 was used and the finding was reported using adjusted OR with 95% CI. Result A total of 365 female students in colleges found inJimma town were involved in the study making a response rate of 97.6%. One hundred sixty (43.8%) of the respondents had experienced sexual intercourse.With respect to transactional sexual practice 88 respondents which are 55% of sexually active study subjects claimed that they have receivedmoney/gift/reward in exchange for sex. Conclusion and Recommendation Most those who involved in transactional sex use condom irregularly. Family monthly incomeand whether or not monthly income covers education fee,cross generational sex and sex film view were significantly associated with sexual transaction. Provision of accurate information onadolescent sexuality and risks and consequences of transactional sex, working on empowerment of college female students in every aspect is essential