Karen McManemin
Gender inequality in Kenya is rampant and contributes to underdevelopment and high rates of HIV transmission. Almost 7% of the total population of 39 million is HIV-positive (CIA, 2009). Women account for the majority of new HIV-infections in Kenya. Women age 15-49 years have an HIV prevalence of 8.7% compared to only 4.5% among their male counterparts (UNAIDS, 2006). With a Human Development Index of 0.541, Kenya is the 35th poorest nation (UNDP, 2009). As a result of colonialism and structural adjustment programs, Kenya has an external debt of US$7.7 billion (CIA, 2009). Kenya’s public debt accounts for 54.1% of its GDP (CIA, 2009). Recently, Kenya’s debt has increased from borrowing money to fight HIV/AIDS. In 2008, the World Bank lent Kenya US$40 million for HIV prevention (Booth, 2004). GDP per capita in 2008 was US$1,580 (UNDP, 2009). Over 40% of Kenyans are unemployed and most of those that do work are in the informal sector (CIA, 2009). It has been estimated that the informal sector accounts for 35-50% of Kenya’s GDP (Mayabi, 2008). Women that are employed currently only make about 55% of men’s earnings and spend fewer of their working hours in paid employment (Booth, 2004).
Although Kenya does receive international aid, the government only spends about 5% of its GDP on health care (Allianz Worldwide Care, 2010). This is far less than the average spending for high-income OECD countries, which use about 9% of their GDP for health care (OECD, 2009). Total health spending in Kenya is about US$6.2 per capita (Allianz World Care, 2010). The WHO estimates that even a very basic set of services for prevention and treatment would cost more than US$34 per capita (Carrin et al, 2008). Thus, access to health care and quality services in Kenya is very poor. The Kenyan government should consider alternative HIV prevention strategies that empower women and generate revenue for health care such as legalizing, controlling, and taxing sex work.
Gender inequality throughout Africa puts women at increased risk of HIV infection because they are denied economic opportunities, autonomy and control over their personal lives (Booth, 2004). Lack of access to education and jobs forces many women to use sex as the primary or supplementary means of income. Sex work is illegal in Kenya, but research has shown that women in economically and socially constrained situations engage in a variety of behaviors that involve transactional sex (Harcourt & Donovan, 2004). The sad reality is that sex is often the currency that poor African women are forced to use in order to survive. A global typography in 2004 highlighted at least 25 behaviors that could fall under the category of “transactional sex” (Harcourt & Donovan, 2004). There is no way for a government to realistically establish which women are “prostitutes” or control the sexual behavior of a population through criminal laws. Criminalization of sex work is especially detrimental in light of the fact that many women have very few options for other means of economic or social mobility. When the state refuses to recognize a type of profession (e.g. selling sex), they don’t have to worry about working conditions, safety, health, or the subpopulation’s ability to make a decent living (Oakley, 2007).
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