Table 3.

Illustrative quotes about preferences for the vaginal ring vs. male condoms during sex

It was a normal sex, the difference was that you are no longer using a condom because there is something that protects her…. Now you are hitting it meat to meat.…. When there is a ring, there is this hope…. That she is protected when there is a ring this study helped us men because we are tired of using condoms. (Thulani, FGD 2, CAPRISA Durban, South Africa)

Because it keeps her ready at any time … let us say I get horny while we are in the kitchen, for me to go to the bedroom to get a condom from the shelf is too far do you understand. Let us say we are chilling in a park out there, or in that nice resort, the mood for sex arises, she is already prepared. Sex tends to just come randomly in a place you feel like we can do it two seconds or two minutes and you become okay… The advantage with the ring is that it gives you convenience. (King, FGD 2, Johannesburg, South Africa)

If you are drunk… And it happens that you are lazy to take the condom, but since she already has this thing [the ring] inside her its good, she is safe. … We as men we sometimes are reluctant to use condoms but if the woman is always having the ring inside her… Then it is problem solved. (Khavava, FGD 1, CAPRISA Durban, South Africa)

When I look at it, the ring is perfect because it is “live” [natural sex without a barrier]. Condoms is like eating a sweet in its packaging as we always say. So, the ring allows for a live show [natural sex without a barrier]. (Mumu, FGD 1, Harare, Zimbabwe)

I am adding on what that gentleman has said. There are some who come and buy sex from sex workers. They tell them that they are to give them one hundred thousand shillings (100,000/ =) for unprotected sex. And if it is sex with a condom, they say they are to give them twenty thousand shillings (20,000/ =). Because the sex worker wants more money, she will tell him to give her the one hundred thousand shillings (100,000/ =) but if she has the ring, she will not get any problem. So, I conclude and say that the ring is good (Abdu, FGD 2, Kampala, Uganda)