Sexual Habits of Left-Behind Wives and Related Community Perceptions in Nima, Accra.

Abstract

The migration-sexuality nexus has implications for health and spread of disease especially HIV AIDS, fertility and family size, socio-cultural norms, and sexuality and sexual behaviour at the origin, transit point and destination, for both migrant husbands and left-behind wives. Since experiences and expectations are different for migrant husbands and left-behind wives, their sexual habits even though both go through changes, the changes differ due to social, political, religious, cultural and personal factors. However, for left-behind wives the effects of these factors are more telling on their sexual habits, thus this study focused on the effects of migration on the sexual habits of left-behind wives by gathering information from their real life experiences and from perceptions of community members. This study adopted the mixed research method approach through the use of questionnaires in a survey and interview guide in in-depth interviews. Data was gathered from a total of fifty-five respondents, comprising eight left-behind wives selected using screener questionnaires to participate in qualitative interviews. And forty-seven community members were also selected through convenience sampling to participate in quantitative interviews. The study drew on the Social Exchange theory and the Equity Concept. The findings indicated that a left-behind wife’s socio-economic status can affect her sexual habits, but as to whether she remains faithful to her husband or not to a large extent depends on religious, cultural and personal factors. There was also evidence that migration of husbands brought about changes in the sexual habits of left-behind wives, however, the forms these changes take differ from the perspective of the wives themselves and the community members. This, the study presumes, could be a case of blame shifting as the left-behind wives seemed to side with community members on the forms of change that occur in the sexual habits of other left-behind wives, but disagreed with them when it relates to the left-behind wives themselves. Generally, perception of sexual habits of left-behind wives is negative as community members perceive left-behind wives to be promiscuous as well as adopt risky sexual habits; hence left-behind wives are cautious and selective in their actions and associations.