Sociocultural Vulnerabilities On The Transmission Of The...

Sociocultural Vulnerabilities on the Transmission of the HIV/AIDS in South Africa The HIV/AIDS epidemic in South Africa has been largely driven by the distinctive interaction of sex, gender, and power relations. Cultural norms regarding gender dynamics are a critical area of inquiry when it comes to understanding the course of HIV/AIDS in rural South Africa. Many of the key questions on the intersection of biological and cultural factors in the transmissibility of HIV can only be answered through anthropological knowledge, insight, and research. The degree to which the epidemic in South Africa is spread through customs and practices are critical concerns for the health sector, which a biocultural anthropological perspective is uniquely†¦show more content†¦This allowed those who did not belong to these â€Å"high risk† groups to imagine that they were immune from infection. Minorities on the margin of society were often blamed for the spread of the disease (Feldman 48). Those who were infected were believed to be the victims of their own immoral be havior. These perceptions added to the stigma attached to AIDS. The South African government neglected the topic until the epidemic had spiraled out of control. But by 1989, it was clear that the AIDS epidemic in South Africa was mainly heterosexually transmitted (Feldman 29). The disease now overwhelmingly affects poor heterosexuals. In severity, however, South Africa’s story of HIV and AIDS is unique even in Africa. It remains the country with the largest AIDS epidemic in the world. South Africa is home to the greatest number of HIV-positive people in the world, totaling over 5.7 million in 2007 (UNAIDS 40). But why was South Africa hit so hard when other countries came away comparatively unscathed? The answers can be found by examining South Africa’s social structure, looking at issues in traditional society such as gender inequity, polygamy, promiscuity, condom use, dry sex, widow inheritance, rape, and women’s societal role. When we consider these issues and customs that keep African women powerless, we begin to realize why these causes represent well more than half of all cases of HIV transmission, and why factoring culture into the equation is so vital (Biakolo 43).