Confronting the 'Sugar Daddy' Stereotype: Age and Economic Asymmetries and Risky Sexual Behavior in Urban Kenya

This 9-page study, published in the journal, “International Family Planning Perspectives”, Volume 31, Number 1, in March 2005, is situated in the context of "sugar daddy" relationships, in sub-Saharan Africa generally and in Kenya specifically. It attempts to gather and analyse information about sugar daddy partnerships and about age and economic asymmetries more generally to determine how common they are and whether they are related to unsafe sexual behaviour.

According to the study, a sugar daddy is defined as an adult male who exchanges large amounts of money or gifts for sexual favours from a much younger woman. Sugar daddy relationships are associated with both age and economic asymmetries, which are believed to limit young women's power to negotiate safer sexual behaviour. The study questions the belief that the large age and economic asymmetries between partners are a major factor in the spread of HIV in sub-Saharan Africa and sets out to acquire information needed about sugar daddy partnerships.

The study’s methodology used a sample of 1,052 men aged 21-45 who were surveyed in Kisumu, Kenya, in 2001. Data on these men and their 1,614 recent nonmarital partnerships were analysed to calculate the prevalence of sugar daddies and sugar daddy relationships, as well as a range of age and economic disparities within nonmarital partnerships. Logistic regression models were constructed to assess relationships between condom use at last sexual intercourse and various measures of age and economic asymmetry.

The results of the survey indicated that the mean age difference between nonmarital sexual partners was 5.5 years, and 47% of men's female partners were adolescents. Fourteen percent of partnerships involved an age difference of at least 10 years, and 23% involved more than the mean amount of male-to-female material assistance. Men who reported at least one partnership with both these characteristics were defined as sugar daddies and made up 5% of the sample; sugar daddy relationships accounted for 4% of partnerships. As stated by the author: "Sugar daddy partnerships and the largest age and economic asymmetries we constructed were associated with decreased odds of condom use."

The following is an excerpt from the Conclusions section of the document:


“Several of our results contest common perceptions. First, our findings reveal that the sugar daddy phenomenon may not be as widespread as generally assumed. Although the sugar daddy is a familiar stereotype, a small minority of men in Kisumu fit our primary definition. Moreover, because definitions of sugar daddies vary, we have attempted to provide an array of prevalence rates of sugar daddies and their partnerships in one urban African population. We should also note that sexual behavior may be different in Kisumu than in other cities. Nevertheless, it is interesting to find such a low prevalence of sugar daddies and sugar daddy partnerships in a setting where the rate of HIV infection is so high.

Second, it is commonly believed that one major reason female adolescents are vulnerable within sexual relationships is their inability to insist on condom use. However, our results show that men's partnerships with adolescents do not necessarily entail lower levels of condom use than their partnerships with older women. We found that condom use is linked to the age difference between partners, not the age of the female partner. This implies that adult women who partner with much older men may be exposed to greater risk than previously thought.

However, our findings do support the common perception that sugar daddy partnerships can pose serious health risks for women, as gauged by the decreased probability of condom use. Interestingly, sugar daddies reported safer behavior in partnerships that did not include both age and economic asymmetries. In sum, it appears that sugar daddies do not practice unsafe sex with all of their partners, but mostly in those partnerships that combine large age and economic disparities.


Our results also show that age and economic asymmetries occur in greater proportions independently than combined in sugar daddy partnerships. Large age differences between sexual partners and relatively large amounts of exchange are frequent occurrences in Kisumu. We also conclude that age and economic asymmetries are independently related to risk behavior. In particular, the largest age and economic asymmetries are associated with the lowest probabilities of condom use. Past studies have yielded similar conclusions about the positive association of age differences between partners with HIV infection and unsafe sexual behavior. However, this study is the first to show statistically that the amount of assistance is linked to unsafe behavior within sexual partnerships.


Overall, our findings provide evidence that sexual behavior is an outcome dependent on the characteristics of both partners and the differences between them. Sugar daddies do not appear to make choices regarding sexual behavior independently of their partners. They are more likely to use condoms in partnerships where women are closer in age and receive less material assistance. In sum, when women have greater relative power - measured by smaller age differences and receipt of less material assistance - condom use is more probable.

These results have implications for policies and programs. The emphasis on "the sugar daddy phenomenon" as a major health concern is without doubt overstated. Continued focus on stereotypical sugar daddies and their adolescent victims may deflect attention from more common age and economic asymmetries, and may cause many women to deny that their relationships involve any risk at all. One approach is to encourage women of all ages to recognize the potential risks associated with their sexual relationships, particularly those that entail large asymmetries. A second opportunity involves increasing women's relative power by improving negotiating skills; increasing access to education, employment and information; and decreasing women's reliance on material assistance. Finally, future research and programming should focus on men and their responsibility for unsafe behavior in asymmetric sexual partnerships.”