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Trading HIV for sheep: Risky sexual behavior and the response of female sex workers to Tabaski in Senegal

Author

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  • Henry Cust

    (LSHTM - London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine)

  • Aurélia Lépine

    (UCL - University College of London [London])

  • Carole Treibich

    (GAEL - Laboratoire d'Economie Appliquée de Grenoble - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes - Grenoble INP - Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes)

  • Timothy Powell‐jackson

    (LSHTM - London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine)

  • Rosalba Radice

    (City University of London)

  • Cheikh Tidiane Ndour

    (Institut d'hygiène Sociale, Dakar,)

Abstract

We use a cohort of female sex workers (FSWs) in Senegal to show how large anticipated economic shocks lead to increased risky sexual behavior. Exploiting the exogenous timing of interviews, we study the effect of Tabaski, the most important Islamic festival celebrated in Senegal, in which most households purchase an expensive animal for sacrifice. Condom use, measured robustly via the list experiment, falls by between 27.3 percentage points (pp) (65.5%) and 43.1 pp (22.7%) in the 9 days before Tabaski, or a maximum of 49.5 pp (76%) in the 7 day period preceding Tabaski. The evidence suggests the economic pressures from Tabaski are key to driving the behavior change observed through the price premium for condomless sex. Those most exposed to the economic pressure from Tabaski were unlikely to be using condoms at all in the week before the festival. Our findings show that Tabaski leads to increased risky behaviors for FSWs, a key population at high risk of HIV infection, for at least 1 week every year and has implications for FSWs in all countries celebrating Tabaski or similar festivals. Because of the scale, frequency, and size of the behavioral response to shocks of this type, policy should be carefully designed to protect vulnerable women against anticipated shocks.

Suggested Citation

  • Henry Cust & Aurélia Lépine & Carole Treibich & Timothy Powell‐jackson & Rosalba Radice & Cheikh Tidiane Ndour, 2024. "Trading HIV for sheep: Risky sexual behavior and the response of female sex workers to Tabaski in Senegal," Post-Print hal-04271238, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04271238
    DOI: 10.1002/hec.4756
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-04271238v1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Paul Gertler & Jonathan Gruber, 2002. "Insuring Consumption Against Illness," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(1), pages 51-70, March.
    2. Dupas, Pascaline & Robinson, Jonathan, 2012. "The (hidden) costs of political instability: Evidence from Kenya's 2007 election crisis," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(2), pages 314-329.
    3. Dupas, Pascaline & Robinson, Jon, 2012. "The (Hidden) Costs of Political Instability: Evidence from Kenya's 2007 Election Crisis," Santa Cruz Department of Economics, Working Paper Series qt3pg793qs, Department of Economics, UC Santa Cruz.
    4. Lépine, Aurélia & Treibich, Carole & D’Exelle, Ben, 2020. "Nothing but the truth: Consistency and efficiency of the list experiment method for the measurement of sensitive health behaviours," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 266(C).
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    Cited by:

    1. Aurélia Lépine & Sandie Szawlowski & Emile Nitcheu & Henry Cust & Eric Defo Tamgno & Julienne Noo & Fanny Procureur & Illiasou Mfochive & Serge Billong & Ubald Tamoufe, 2024. "The effect of protecting women against economic shocks to fight HIV in Cameroon, Africa: The POWER randomised controlled trial," PLOS Medicine, Public Library of Science, vol. 21(10), pages 1-23, October.

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