Widow cleansing and inheritance among the Luo in Kenya: the need for additional women-centred HIV prevention options

The customs of widow cleansing and widow inheritance are practiced in several communities throughout sub‐Saharan Africa. In the Nyanza Province of Kenya, according to tradition, Luo widows are expected to engage in sexual intercourse with a “cleanser,” without the use of a condom, in order to remove the impurity ascribed to her after her husband's death. Luo couples, including widows, are also expected to engage in sex preceding specific agricultural activities, building homes, funerals, weddings, and other significant cultural and social events. Widows who are inherited for the purpose of fulfilling cultural obligation have a higher prevalence of HIV than those who remain un‐inherited or are inherited for the purpose of companionship.