Kenyan men practice more safe-sex than Kenyan women

Men are more concerned about their health and eager on using protection than women while enjoying coital pleasures with males they are not dating nor married to.

The Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS) 2022 found that 35% of men and 19% of women had physical intercourse with someone who wasn’t their spouse or roommate in the preceding year.

Despite being a risk factor for contracting HIV/Aids and other sexually transmitted diseases, the data shows that only 37% of the women used condoms with their secret lovers, also known as “mpango wa kando,” as opposed to 68% of the men who did.

“It’s like women don’t perceive themselves to be at risk of getting HIV and other sexually transmitted infections,” acting Director of Health Patrick Amol said during the release of the survey at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre on Monday.

The findings also revealed that both sexes engaged in more impulsive sexual conduct, with men and women between the ages of 15 and 49 having an average of 7.4 partners and 2.3 partners, respectively.

“Four percent of women aged 15–49 had two or more sexual partners in the last 12 months,”

Nearly a quarter (24%) of the women had worn a condom during their most recent sex, it was found.

Comparatively, 15% of men aged 15 to 49 said they had two or more sexual partners the year before.

“Among men with two or more sexual partners, 45 percent reported using a condom during their last sexual intercourse,” the report shows.

Surprisingly, the study found that education increased the percentage of adults who reported having sex in the preceding year with someone other than their partner, spouse, or roommate.

Women now make up 27% of individuals with at least a secondary education, up from 7% of those without any education.

When it comes to men, the percentage rose from 20% for those with no education to 43% for those who have completed at least secondary school.

The data also shows that the proportion of women between the ages of 15 and 49 who had relationships with people other than their husbands or roommates in the preceding year increases with quintiles of wealth, going from 14% for those in the lowest quintile to 22% for those in the highest.

The largest percentage of women aged 15 to 49 who had two or more sexual partners in the preceding year, according to data, was found in Murang’a County (11%).

The lowest percentages are found in Mandera, Tana River, and Kwale counties, each of which has less than 1%.

The percentage of men between the ages of 15 and 49 who had two or more sexual partners in the preceding year was highest in Narok county (43%) and lowest in Kirinyaga, Kericho, and Garissa counties (2% apiece).

The primary objective of the 2022 KDHS is to provide up-to-date estimates of key socio-demographic, dietary, and health factors.