Violent conflicts and risky sexual behavior in Uganda

This paper investigates the relationship between violent conflicts and risky sexual behavior in Uganda. The authors use geographical and temporal variation in conflict intensity and a difference-in-differences approach to evaluate how individual exposure to conflicts in the past 5 years influences the decision to engage in risky sex. They find that exposure to more conflicts leads to safer sex practice. They further investigate how the relationship between risky sexual behavior and violent conflict exposure varies depending on the malaria risk in the region where individuals live. They find a heterogeneous effect highlighting that behavioral response to an increase in conflict exposure varies by the burden of diseases an individual faces: additional conflict exposure leads to safer sex practice in places with high malaria-related mortality and to riskier sex practice in places with low malaria-related mortality.