Introduction: - Nigeria has a great ethnic background that contains numerous cultural and religious diversities. The culture allowed men to take advantage of external sexual activity over their sexual women and this can be violating their matrimonial lives and sexual risks as the culture does not admit the women to question the men over their external sexual activity. As such they do it as they desire and this can be risk contracting HIV.

Purpose: - Socio-cultural norms, particularly gender norms, usually put off people from applying condoms even when they are at risk contracting HIV. Men usually determine the circumstances of intercourse and often refuse to protect themselves over their partners. Practices like female genital mutilation, wife sharing, widow inheritance, scarification, blood covenant are still practice in Nigeria. These factors influence HIV vulnerability.

Methods: A survey conducted in Benin City Nigeria using 300 women to determine how they can promote safe sexual behaviour, in-depth, open and ended questionnaires were used for the study. For those who could not read and write, oral interview was conducted.

Results:- It showed that 83% of women do not discuss sex with their husbands for fear of being accused that they learned about sex in an extramarital affair, as such, they had no ability to control practices that increase their vulnerability for contracting HIV. They lacked awareness about sources of information and care.

Conclusions: - Findings to educate them of the need to be conscious of their cultural applications to promote safer sexual practices as to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS. Government should make funds available for community based organizations to enhance them intensify proper HIV/AIDS education, healthcare providers should educate and counsel community leaders on harmful traditional practices, women empowerment programs should be put in place to enable girls/women know their rights and to guild themselves from infection, men and boys should be the major target group in AIDS education and prevention programs. Financially Donors should assist to implement this program.

About Ehirobo Abel