Paper short abstract:

This paper explores the mutually constituting nature of urban spaces and sexual relations in Senegal. We examine transformations in the socio-economic and built environment and how they have influenced gender relations and facilitated new forms of clandestine prostitution and transactional sex.

Paper long abstract:

This paper explores the mutually constituting nature of spaces and sexual relations in urban Senegal. We examine recent social, economic, and physical transformations in three distinctive urban settings in the region of Saint Louis—Saint Louis (regional capital with a university), Richard Toll (industrial city) and Rosso (border town)—and how their respective urban spaces have facilitated the rise of new forms of clandestine prostitution and transactional sex. The changing social, economic, and physical landscapes of these cities and the constant circulation of people and goods between these urban centers and the rural hinterland offer new possibilities for sexual and romantic liaisons, particularly for young women. The research team interviewed 456 people in the region (of whom 165 were women) about their sexual practices and changing gender norms. We found that many women are experiencing increasing autonomy in their sexual lives and in their choice of sexual partners. Nonetheless, they remain enmeshed in gender relations in which they have limited ability to negotiate the terms of heterosexual relationships. Educated young women with multiple sexual partners reported high rates of unprotected sex while married men reported higher rates of condom use, largely as a means of contraception in extra-marital relationships.