Abstract
In the large cities of Cameroon, early sexual relations are a major problem for young people due to the risk of unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases and AIDS, in this population that has not yet mastered protection and which is ill prepared to convince often older sexual partners to use condoms. The HIV/AIDS epidemic can be analysed as an exogenous trauma that has not given rise to an immediate national response at institutional level, in spite of the pressure and priorities imposed from outside. The survey was aimed at understanding how young people build the idea of protection and risk faced with HIV, and identifying their practices and their relations with protective practices. The response of young people is over influenced by “macro” factors: perceptions of the role played by developed countries, the urban context, the effects of poverty and, lastly, gender relationships, perceptions and uses of the body, and sexuality. Thus young people find themselves in a situation between refusal and “do-it-yourself”: a total lack of protection, and small empirical and sometimes counter-productive practices. The position of young people remains ambiguous regarding HIV tests, they use condoms “circumstantially”, and finally place their trust in God.
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Notes
- 1.
According to Guengant, for the period 2000–2005, Central Africa, the region in which Cameroon is situated, is characterised by a crude mortality rate of 18‰, a crude birth rate of 46‰, and a total fertility rate of 6.2 children per woman. Life expectancy at birth is only 46 years. However, the annual growth rate is 2.8%, which will lead to a twofold increase of the population in the next 25 years.
- 2.
According to the Surveys on Employment and the Informal Sector performed in 2005 and 2010, the rate of activity of the population of 10 years old and over in 2005 was estimated at 72%, a figure which fell to 69% in 2010. About 76% of the active population occupied in 2005 and 70% in 2010 were in a situation of global underemployment, i.e. they work involuntarily, meaning that they work less than the minimum weekly working time of 35 hours, or they earn less than the hourly minimum wage (Barrere et al. 2012).
- 3.
The expression “good practices” means conduct considered vital by most professionals in a given domain and which can be found in the form of guides to good practice (GGP). Regarding public health, good practices mean conformity with norms and recommendations favourable for health. This notion implies a prohibitive and moralising dimension insofar as people who fail to conform are considered as not having acted for their own well-being.
- 4.
Increasing numbers of young girls succeed in opposing polygamy and the imposed choice of their partner, essential questions for which they had hitherto not been consulted.
- 5.
- 6.
From 1987, screening campaigns were organised in the two large hospitals of Douala and Yaoundé. The cost then was CFAF 3500 (about €5.5) per person, the equivalent of a family’s food budget for two days.
- 7.
The Public interest group ESTHER whose acronym translates into Together for a Hospital Therapeutic Solidarity Network, was created in 2002 by the French Doctor Bernard Kouchner to promote a quality care for people living with HIV/AIDS and combat inequalities in access to care in developing countries. Esther is present in 17 countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Ghana, Laos, Mali, Morocco, Niger, Senegal, Chad, Togo, Vietnam).
- 8.
Through sharing the same toilets, plates, knives and forks and dwelling.
- 9.
Erving Goffman (1975) distinguished three types of stigmatism: bodily monstrosities, personality defects and tribal stigmatisms.
- 10.
Expression used by the young.
- 11.
The apparent double safety they seek can be explained by the complaints made against cheap condoms. They are effectively considered as being very fragile, liable to be pierced or explode during sexual intercourse and there is widespread rumour of small pores in the condoms that cannot be seen with the naked eye.
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Tchetgnia, L. (2018). Young People’s Ambiguous and Complex Responses on HIV/AIDS in Cameroon. In: Petit, V. (eds) Population Studies and Development from Theory to Fieldwork. Demographic Transformation and Socio-Economic Development, vol 7. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-61774-9_12
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