Let’s get down to the core. Today we focus on the long term solution per say that could possibly contribute to the reduction of the HIV prevalence rate in the country. For now, the prevalence rate is lingering at 15 for close to three years. Now what’s critical is how HIV and AIDS related incidences can nose dive.
Remember, a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. The step we take today is sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) education for and by the youths. In the words of Drake, we surely have to “start from the bottom” going up. The child has to be trained in a such way that what he/ she learns about in their youth will never depart from them.
SRHR is a human rights concept pertaining to sexuality and reproduction which is divided into four parts. These include sexual health, sexual rights, reproductive health and reproductive rights. Today’s agenda will dwell more on sexual rights, where we unravel the ties it has with HIV and AIDS on young people.
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| Female learners at Kuyasa Primary School in Khayelitsha, watch with
curiosity as a Projects Abroad volunteer shows them how to use a female
condom. Photo: Lyndon Metembo |
The AIDS fatigue is
still very active and continues to hover around the country creating fear. A
greater part of the population especially the youth are still afraid of going
for an HIV. Some weeks back, I wanted to go for an HIV test, but I just didn’t
want to go there alone. After all, we find comfort in numbers. So I told my
friends that it would be great if we all went together. They all gave silly
excuses such as “I will not be free” or “I have tested before” but the response
that got my attention was “right now, I am super health so there is no need.
When I fall sick or even go to the extent of being bedridden, maybe I will go.”
When I asked why, she said “I have done so many crazy things, and I would
rather not know because I don’t want stress in my life.” The greater stress does not know. Fear of the unknown is the stress. Once one is
familiar with their HIV status then you know what to do next. Simple.
Over the years, the most young people in
the country have been brainwashed by the propaganda of “Abstinence”. Abstinence only prevention programmes or adverts
like “Umkhwenyana uqobo uyamelela”
have greatly reduced the practice if safe sex. Though there are efforts from Protector
Plus, more needs to be done. Condoms must be distributed to children of school
going age too. Toilets should be flooded with condoms for them to use so that
they can practice safer sex. Not doing so is an infringement of their rights. As far as the Universal Declaration of Sexual
Rights (Hong Kong, 1999) is concerned, it’s their right too. These rights include:
1)
The
right to sexual freedom.
2)
The
right to sexual autonomy, sexual integrity, and safety of the sexual body.
3)
The
right to sexual privacy.
4)
The
right to sexual equity.
5)
The
right to sexual pleasure.
6)
The
right to emotional sexual expression.
7)
The
right to sexually associate freely.
8)
The
right to make free and responsible reproductive choices.
9)
The
right to sexual information based upon scientific inquiry.
10) The
right to comprehensive sexual education.
11) The
right to sexual health care.
The number of new
infections per year, exceeds the number of annual aids deaths explaining the
rising HIV prevalence rate. More than half of the people living with HIV are
part of the education system. How many young people aged between 15 and 29 know
all the necessary facts about HIV can be prevented? Lack of clear sex education
is the major factor leading to HIV and AIDS. It’s not enough to have access to
sex education when one is going for and HIV test. Let the information on SRHR
that is so much deprived from the public especially the youth be cascaded to
pupils is the primary and secondary set-ups to the students at tertiary institutions.
Back in the day, abstinence
was the order of the day, that is all our mothers and fathers to do. “Wait till
you are married.” They would say. High five to that! But now times have moved
and things have changed. We are in the era were 12 year olds are engaging in
sexual activities which puts them at risk of having more sexually experienced
partners who in most cases call the shots. Now that abstinence has become old
fashioned, it’s better to empower the youths on sex education. Not the kind
that is simplified overwhelmed with euphemism, but the kind that is direct,
precise and specific. Words like “penis”, “vagina”, “condom” or “oral sex”
should not be excluded in the modules. Once we are direct in sex education we
will be direct in our implementation and the results will be on point. Let’s
teach condom sense in our schools and make the youths realise that “no condom,
doesn’t make sense”. Let such practises be instilled in our DNAs that it
becomes abnormal to even think of having sex without a condom.
There is need to move
away from abstinence based approaches to prevention especially with the youths.
That way the importance of condom use and being faithful could curtail the HIV infections
while showing the importance of all three areas of ABC.
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