The present study explored the relationship between empowerment and risky sexual
behaviours. Participants were 104 University students. All participants individually
completed a questionnaire package that included the Scale of Sexual Risk Taking and the
Sexual Empowerment Scale. The latter, is an instrument developed for this study as a
measure of sexual empowerment in undergraduate students. The questionnaires were
followed by a 30-minute interview on the determinants ofboth safe and unsafe sexual
behaviours. Students engaging in high-risk behaviour were compared to low-risk
students, using both quantitative and qualitative data. The quantitative measures of sexual
empowerment failed to predict Risky Sexual Behaviours although a variety ofaspects of
sexual empowerment emerged in the qualitative data. These findings are interpreted as
support for treatment programs which focus on individual needs as opposed to a general
increase in sexual empowerment
