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

Women who participated had an opportunity to design an individualized
behavioral plan that would address each woman’s specific risks. It sought
to empower women by offering specific communication and negotiation
strategies to help reduce these risks. For example, women were taught to
negotiate around and communicate on the importance of condom use with
sex partners. The counselor also role-played and rehearsed verbal
assertiveness with each enrollee (Wechsberg et al., 2006).
The intervention specifically addressed gender-based violence:
participants learned violence prevention strategies, such as staying sober,
communication techniques for a range of situations, and ways to exit
volatile situations (Wechsberg et al., 2005).
The counselor also demonstrated and rehearsed proper male and female
condom use (Wechsberg et al., 2006). Groceries and a toiletry kit were
provided to enrollees upon session exit, as well as referral resources.
Target Audience
Female sex workers and at-risk women who use alcohol or drugs and
reside in areas reporting high substance abuse
Level of Intervention • Province
• Community
• Individual
Geographic
Location
Pretoria, Gauteng Province
Timeframe September 2003–July 2008
Funders
National Institute for Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the
United States National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Partner
Organizations
Implementation partners:
• Sizanang Centre for Research and Development
IMPLEMENTATION AND RESULTS
Start-up and
Implementation
Process
This intervention was originally designed to address the needs of inner-city
African-American female crack users in the U.S. (Wechsberg et al., 2004),
and was adapted to serve female sex workers and other vulnerable women
in South Africa. Researchers, in partnership with local outreach workers,
used a sampling strategy to identify communities in Pretoria and recruit
program participants among women conducting sex work in hotels,
apartments, and informal settlements as well as those working the streets
of Pretoria (Wechsberg et al., 2005).
A community advisory board (CAB) comprising representatives from the
government, nonprofit organizations, service providers and researchers
was established to provide input and support where necessary. The
mayor’s office established a task force to locate housing and education
services for sex workers. The Department of Health provided free male and
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