South African post-graduate theses on student transactional sex relationships: a scoping review.

Abstract

Through a scoping review, this study focused on transactional sexual relationships among university students. Transactional sex is a distinct set of behaviours, labels, and identities which differs from commercial sex work. It is characterised by the exchange of monetary or material support and typically occurs outside the context of marriages or formal sex work. Transactional sexual relationships are a new social phenomenon prevailing in modern society across races, cultures, religions, political affiliations, or economic systems. Transactional sexual relationships have increasingly received the attention of researchers, and the practice seems to be complex and perhaps misunderstood; thus, this study aimed to conduct a systematic scoping review of studies conducted by post- graduate students in South Africa on transactional sexual relationships occurring among university students. The objectives of the study were: to explore how transactional sexual relationships are defined in the post-graduate theses; to determine the different types of transactional sexual relationships within the university context; to explore the samples that have been studied in these theses; and to review the strengths and limitations of these studies on transactional sexual relationships. A scoping review research design was suitable for this study. Firstly, it reviewed and described how post-graduate theses have engaged with transactional sexual relationships in general. Secondly, it determined the findings of these studies about university students and transactional sexual relationships. A matrix table presented the thesis and dissertations from South African universities that met the inclusion criteria which looked at South African university’s dissertations from 2010. The results that were presented thematically were: peer pressure, poverty and vulnerability, social norms and gender roles, substance abuse and risk, HIV and AIDS and sexual violence. From the findings and discussion, the researcher recommended awareness designed to educate students to shun transactional sex, the provision of health education through pamphlets and the provision of student grants to help cater for student needs during their stay at university.