Jaboya is a form of bartering observed on the coast of Kenya where a customer is also a lover. Men fish and women buy the fish to sell on the market. A woman without a boyfriend or a male partner would not be able to obtain fish. Women with limited income therefore offer sex to fishermen in exchange for fish. Fishermen on the other hand have a lot of choice and often more than one customer, and hence are involved in a network of sexual encounters fuelling the HIV epidemic.

Jaboya does not equate prostitution, Jaboya “is a term originally coined by fishing communities in Kenya. In its original meaning, the word is derived from the system of anchoring fishing nets in the water and is often used to refer to the leader of one-boat fishing crew. It has however acquired new meanings over time, taking on the meaning “Girlfriend”. Jaboya today refers to well organized “husband-wife” relationships in the fishing iindustry.”

IRIN reports that more and more young girls are involved in the system “Fishing is the economic mainstay of this community, and jaboya the only way for fish traders to make a living. Stiff competition for a catch that is often less than plentiful means offering their own bodies is no longer enough, so desperate traders have now resorted to making available their younger, more nubile relatives – many of them under 18 years of age – to ensure they have an edge.”

In the Nyanza province, the practice of Jaboya brings together an explosive cocktail. Nyanza province has an HIV prevalence of 15.3%, HIV prevalence amongst fishermen was estimated at 30.5% in 2006, the province has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the country and highest school drop-out, and the average Nyanza girl starts having sex aged 16 compared to 19 in Nairobi province.

Jaboya illustrates how rapidly changing social conditions and cultural values can contribute to the spread of the HIV epidemic. Lack of education, poverty, and the promise to make quick money to fit into a urban lifestyle are some of the many reasons that fuel the HIV epidemic. Women needs support (and not of this kind) but men also need to be involved as many still believe HIV is a curse or that they are not at risk.

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