As for polygamy, Wane notes that when married men are searching for second or third wives they invariably ''try out'' lots of other women. We simple don't know,'' says Tardy. Most astonishingly, while 15 percent of the professional sex workers that come to the clinic are infected with the HIV, that level has not increased since 1992. There are still many theories. But there are also no clear answers as to why the type 2 virus is common here when sex workers come from all over Africa and why HIV 2 is common in other regions where AIDS levels are high.
Western experts continue to stress the importance of legalising sex work.
Yet according to sex workers themselves, some Senegalese men also insist on not using condoms. The Senegalese men say 'I am not sick. El Hadj Sy remains convinced that there are ''indigenous strategies'' for minimising the risk of infection. Traditionally in many parts of Senegal, when a man dies his brother marries the widows and AIDS experts have long believed that when the death is AIDS related the HIV virus is then automatically spread to the brother and his first wives. Still, Sy admits he doesn't know which are the strategies that are most significant in keeping AIDS levels low.