High HIV prevalence rates (30%) as well as very high rates of STIs have been noted among fishing communities along the shores of Lake Victoria. Although more recent figures for Kisumu are slightly lower, the numbers are still alarmingly high, and higher than in other parts of the country. HIV prevalence among female sex workers was also very high, at 75%. Studies conducted in Kisumu in the late nineties show that HIV prevalence among girls was very high compared to boys (age group 15-19 years 23% versus 4% age group 20-24 years 40% versus 13%). Nyanza province, in general, is the most severely affected, with HIV rates as high as 15%, which is double the national average. It is one of the most HIV/AIDS affected areas in Nyanza with a prevalence of 18.5%. Kisumu town is found by the shores of Lake Victoria, is the capital of Nyanza province and the third largest town in Kenya. The contrasting HIV prevalence between boys and girls is a pattern observed in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Of the young women aged 15-24, HIV prevalence is three times higher than HIV among their male counterparts. The main form of HIV transmission is heterosexual sex. Statistics in sub-Saharan Africa remain disturbingly high, with 75% of all young people living with HIV being female. Globally, the HIV epidemic is increasing faster amongst young women than young men and nowhere is this trend more apparent than in sub-Saharan Africa. Condom use was irregular during all types of sexual encounters. These partners had a stronger socio-economic position than young women, enabling them to use money/gifts as leverage for sex. A substantial number of girls and young women engaged in transactional sex, often with much older working partners.
The desire for love and sexual pleasure also contributed to their multiple concurrent partnerships. For many sexually active girls, their vulnerability to STI/HIV infection is enhanced due to financial inequality, gender-related power difference and cultural norms. Forced sex, gang rape and multiple concurrent relationships characterised the sexual encounters of youth, frequently facilitated by the abuse of alcohol, which is available for minors at low cost in local brew dens.
Video halls - rooms with a TV and VCR - often show pornography at night for a very small fee, and minors are allowed. Porn video shows and local brew dens were identified as popular events where unprotected multipartner, concurrent, coerced and transactional sex occurs between adolescents.