A study to determine why sexual cleansing is still practised in Namwala district in view of hiv/AIDS.

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to find out why people in Namwala District still practice sexual cleansing in view of HIV/AIDS. Information was gathered from 2 sources respectively: Literature on cultural practices that have a direct or indirect bearing on HIV/AIDS and from people with different expertise on HIV/AIDS and culture. For' the purpose of this study a descriptive, qualitative and quantitative none experimental design was chosen to collect data from 50 respondents. The study came up with the following findings:- *That cleansing is practiced in most tribes within Namwala District, it was however, observed from both statistical findings and group discussion that the methods used were influenced by tribal beliefs. With the majority of respondents being Tongas, most of the respondents (64%) preferred sexual cleansing. *That the majority of the respondents knew the existence of HIV/AIDS.

*That its major route of transmission is through sexual intercourse and respondents were even knowledgeable of how to prevent it.