Food, sex and text: Exploring survival sex in the context of food insecurity through communal readings of the book of Ruth

Abstract

The study explored how contextual Bible study (CBS) contributes to the understanding of survival sex in the context of food insecurity. Even though South Africa is a food secure nation, a large percentage of the population is food insecure. While researchers focus significantly on transactional sex and other forms of sexual exchange, survival sex, particularly in the context of food insecurity has not been extensively or adequately researched from the South Africa perspective. CBS as a communal, participatory, collaborative and empowering process is designed as a literary platform upon which community concerns and social justice issues are addressed. Through CBS, conducted with a group of purposefully selected Christian women, the factors that drive survival sex in the context of food insecurity in the Msunduzi Municipality was explored.