Culture and gender as factors in patterns of high-risk sexual behaviour among students on the main campus of the University of the Free State

English: In this article, an exposition is provided on information collected in a survey conducted at the University of the Free State (UFS) to help provide a better understanding of risk factors for HIV infection among UFS students in comparison with the behaviour patterns of students at other universities. The focus was a univariate analysis. Stereotypes identified as a known risk factor making students at other universities more vulnerable to HIV and high-risk sexual behaviour, were also found among UFS students] 53% of the respondents believed that lower-class people were most at risk of contracting HIV. Forty percent (40%) of the students who took part in the study admitted to being sexually active. This correlates with findings in the literature study that students are a highly sexually active population. Eighteen percent (18%) of sexually active students at the UFS admitted to having had five or more sexual partners in their lifetime. Fifteen to nineteen years was identified as the watershed age range during which most participants first had sexual intercourse. The majority of students (76%), stated that the existence of HIV had influenced their sexual interaction with other people. In an interesting revelation, a general sexual culture was identified among UFS students, rather than culturally-based sexual practices.