Joblessness drives blesser relationships

Transactional relationships put girls and young women at risk of HIV and psychological harm

- Aarti Bhana

Financial insecurity, high unemployment and emotional neglect are driving “blesser” relationships in South Africa, causing long-term health and psychological damage to adolescent girls and young women involved with older men.

Nearly 83% of African women in the country are involved in inter-generational sexual relationships, University of Pretoria clinical psychologist Sibongile Sibanyoni said, citing a 2022 study.

“Many young women from impoverished backgrounds engage in blesser/blessee relationships with older men for financial security and luxuries — financial deprivation mainly,” Sibanyoni told a recent webinar.

“With financial dependence that blessees tend to have on the blessers, you find that their ability to be autonomous, or their ability to leave the relationship when they want to, become really restricted.”

South Africa’s unemployment rate increased to 32.9% in the first quarter of 2025, according to Statistics South Africa, with young people bearing the brunt.

Of the 10.3 million South Africans aged 15 to 24, 37.1% were not in employment, education, or training (NEET). Compared with the first quarter of 2024, the NEET rate rose by 1.0 percentage point for females and 2.3 points for males in the first three months of this year, with female rates remaining higher overall, according to Stats SA.

Adolescent girls and young women in transactional relationships are exposed to HIV/Aids, unintended pregnancies and may drop out of school, which then severely harms their future, Sibanyoni said.