The Changing Context of Sexual Initiation in sub-Saharan Africa

During the past 20 years, there has been a substantial reduction in the proportion of young women who marry as teenagers in sub-Saharan Africa. It is often argued that delaying marriage leads to a rise in the proportion of young women who engage in premarital sex. The paper examines the dual risks of premarital sex and marriage without prior sexual experience in 27 sub-Saharan African countries, and asks how reductions in the prevalence of early marriage have affected the likelihood of initiating premarital sex. Analysis reveals that although the age of first sexual activity has either remained the same or increased, a shift in the context of sexual initiation from marriage to before marriage has taken place in many countries. The paper assesses whether the increase in the proportion of young women who report premarital sex is influenced by an increase in exposure to the idea of premarital sex or by an increase in the actual rate. The evidence on this point is mixed.