Implementing Multiple Gender Strategies to Improve HIV and ... - ICRW

4. Contraception, conception and menstruation
5. Taking risks, sexual problems, and unwanted pregnancy
6. STDs and HIV
7. Safer sex and condoms
8. Gender-based violence
9. Motivations for sexual behavior
10. Communication skills (two sessions)
11. Dealing with grief and loss
12. Preparing for the future
13. Final community meeting
Specific issues that are discussed for each topic vary by training group,
depending on what youth participants raise as their interests and concerns.
After the third, eighth, and ninth sessions, young men and women come
together in three peer group meetings to share the dialogue they engaged
in separately, and compare and understand the issues from the perspective
of the other sex. For example, in the first peer group meeting, as young
women share their constraints and concerns with young men and vice
versa, participants are able to self-reflect and develop a better
understanding of what it means to be a man or a woman and how to be a
better partner or member of one’s family. The program ends with a
communitywide meeting, where participants share lessons learned across
the sessions and communicate any concerns or requests that emerged
from these lessons that they can work on with the community. Participants
are referred to local clinics for further care and support during and after the
end of the implementation.
In developing the South Africa adaptation of Stepping Stones, editors found
gender-based violence to be an issue fundamentally interconnected with
HIV prevention and sexual health. As the training package in Uganda did
not specifically address violence, the South Africa program added a
gender-based violence session to the training package. This session uses
open dialogue and role play as techniques to encourage communication
and understanding of violence. Issues covered include identifying and
responding to different types of violence, identifying formal and informal
sources of help, and legal protections against violence. It also explores
questions such as “Why do men rape?” and “Why do men and women
mistreat each other?” Other sessions also touch upon violence, including
discussions on social expectations of and pressure on young men and
women, happy and unhappy sexual relationships, and sex and love.
The session on violence also seeks to increase young men’s and women’s
knowledge of legal protections by reviewing South Africa’s Domestic
Violence Act. This discussion seeks to raise awareness about legal rights
and protection for violence against women, as well as violence against
children and men.
Throughout the training package, participants reflect upon and discuss
male norms and behaviors that are harmful or beneficial for young men,
young women, their families, and their communities. For example, in the
session on societal expectations, young men discuss how society values
them and the pressure they face to engage in “masculine” activities, even
when risky, such as sex with multiple partners. Young men identify these
issues themselves, thus shaping the discussion based on their own
concerns and experiences. Once the men have identified their concerns,
the facilitator guides the discussion around how realistic these expectations
are and the challenges of living up to these expectations. The men then
discuss among themselves their options to change risky behavior or
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