Power cuts and risky sex

With selective power cuts regularly plunging Benin's largest city, Cotonou, into darkness, Alain*, a young taxi driver, no longer has to worry about paying for a hotel room to have casual sex – a quiet corner on a dark street will do.

The soaring price of petrol has led to a renewed outbreak of power cuts in many West African countries, because their national economies have been unable to cover the additional costs of keeping enough of their power stations operating. Most of Cotonou's residents see the cuts as a problem, but some young people are making them work to their advantage.

"Before I couldn't make love regularly because to do so I either had to take the woman to my house or to a room that charges by the hour," said Alain, who operates from a bus station in the Jonquet district, in the centre of Cotonou. "It was a big worry for me because it meant that you had to have money."

Hotels that charge by the hour cost him between 1,000 and 1,500 CFA francs (between 2.4 and 3.6 dollars) for a room, while taking a woman to his house was risky, he said. The Jonquet district has acquired a seedy reputation, even outside of Benin, due to the high number of sex workers and their clients.

Until a few months ago, Jean-Marc*, 35, a bachelor, did not dare come to Jonquet. "I don't have a girlfriend and ... I went to this area looking for prostitutes, but at the same time I was very ashamed because even though it's a busy district, I was always worried someone would recognise me," he told IRIN/PlusNews. "Now it is often dark in this area and I'm not embarrassed any more; I can do whatever I want."

Like Alain and Jean-Marc, many other young people who are restricted by social pressure, parental supervision or financial reality, have found refuge in the compulsory darkness.

"The selective power cuts are not always a bad thing, even if they are in some way damaging the economy or triggering disputes," said Guy Gbété, a mechanic. "At least it allows young people to express themselves sexually, because these days there are too many obstacles for us."

Concerns

Anti-AIDS organisations see things differently. "From a survey we have gauged that in certain areas of Cotonou, lots of things have been going on at night since the selective power cuts have been happening, with no regard for [HIV/AIDS] prevention methods," Achille Métahou, from OSV Jordan, a non-governmental organisation in Benin specialising in health issues, told IRIN/PlusNews.

"There is no doubt that the people taking advantage of the selective power cuts to make love do not always follow the basic rules to protect themselves," he added.

Maxime Akpé, a motorbike mechanic, confirmed that the often hurried nature of coupling in the dark sometimes meant he was careless. "I do sometimes carry condoms but when I get really aroused I forget, particularly if the young lady is in a hurry to leave; I just get on with the act itself," he admitted.

Although the HIV prevalence rate in Benin has decreased significantly over the last few years - below 2 percent, the authorities have said – the rate of condom use has also fallen: 8.2 million condoms were sold in 2007, compared to 10 million three years before, according to the international social marketing organisation, PSI-Benin.

*Not real name

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