Determinants of Condom use in Botswana: An empirical Investigation of the Role of Gender

This article is largely motivated by the observation that gender imbalance have tended to aggravate females susceptibility to HIV infection as men used their dominance to dictate on issues of sexual activity with their female counterparts. The paper analyses factors influencing the use of condoms by both sexes and discovers that both males and females respond in similar fashion albeit at differing intensities to determinants of condom use. Using logistic regression analysis we note that education, the never married, those living together, the perception that the partner could be unfaithful and age at first sex are positively correlated to condom use for both males and females. In cases where the faithfulness of the partner was unknown, females were more likely to use condoms whereas there was no observable relationship for males in such cases. There was a negative relationship between condom use and age differences with partner for females whereas the relationship was positive for males. Females who were Professionals, legislators, associate professionals and technicians were less likely to use condoms than the unemployed females. In the case of males it was the associate professionals and technicians who were less likely to use condoms than the unemployed whereas the other professions were not statistically different to the unemployed males in terms of condom use. In conclusion we note that there is no conclusive evidence that gender imbalance impedes the propensity of women to use condoms.