Young Girls, Older Men & HIV/AIDS In Africa

By Edge of Humanity Magazine, June 14, 2016

“Sugar Daddy” and young girlfriend
Lilongwe, Malawi

Photographer Mick Yates is the Edge of Humanity Magazine contributor of this documentary photography. These images are from his project ‘Sugar Daddy‘. To see Mick’s extensive gallery of projects and photographs click on any image.

Mother & Child
Lilongwe, Malawi

Grandmother
Nadzanale Village, Malawi

Who, Us?
Nadzanale Village, Malawi

The “Sugar Daddy” Culture corrupts parts of Africa and can spread HIV/Aids.

The very first image, taken in 2002 in Malawi, is of a very young girl and an older man. Ostensibly, it is a smiling relationship. But it is one of dominance. The man grasps the girl’s hand and keeps her in place. Her look is uncertain, her body slightly twisted away. Read more at http://micksphotoblog.com/sugar-daddy

The “Sugar Daddy” image was used by the Guttmacher Institute, in 2005, to head an article on the subject. The article is still online at http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/3100605.html

Whilst this is an old story, the basic truths of it still persist. There is a recent culture of “blesser” and “blessee” in some countries, where effectively the young woman is “blessed” by a (usually) older man – money for favours.

See: http://www.sbs.com.au/topics/life/culture/article/2016/05/26/blessers-inside-south-africas-sugar-daddy-culture. South Africa’s Sugar Daddy Culture, from SBS Australia, 2016.