Surviving on the Streets: Sexuality and HIV/Aids among Male Street Youth in Dessie, Ethiopia

Abstract

The increasing number of street children is one of the most serious social problems facing Ethiopia today. As many as 200,000 children may be living on the streets. Studies in other countries have shown the importance of understanding sexual attitudes and behaviour among street children, particularly with regard to HIV/Aids. However in Ethiopia almost all studies of adolescent sexuality and HIV/Aids have been conducted among high school and college students. Out-of-school and street children, who are much less accessible, have been neglected. This study in Dessie, a provin-cial town in Ethiopia, is part of the research for an ongoing PhD project titled ‘Ethnography of Sex: An Exploration of the Socio-economic and Cultural Context of Sexuality and HIV/Aids among Ethiopian Youth’. Three focus group discussions (FGDs) with a total of 30 street children, as well as numerous informal talks and discussions, were conducted during the fieldwork period between October 2001 and February 2002. The study reveals the importance of understanding young people’s sexual behaviour not as a matter of isolated, individual risk-taking, but as aspects of collective behaviour deeply embedded in their way of life.