European guidelines for youth AIDS peer education - University of ...

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What European policy says about the matterIn Decision No. 647/96/EC of the European Parliament and the Council, AIDS is considered a ‘major scourge’and the decision provides that it is important to ‘promote the utilisation and proper use of condoms as ameans of preventing the HIV virus and other STD’ 2 . The decision further states that ‘the provision of informationto children and young people must begin at an early age in the general context of information on hygiene andsexuality and health education.’ These decisions are not an ‘ideal’ but reflect the reality that a majority ofEuropean young people have already experienced sexual intercourse by the age of 17.The global viewThe United Nations became involved in the issue in 1989, when the General Assembly adopted theConvention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). This document is perhaps more idealistic, but is specific tochildren and young people and deals directly with their participation in the issues that affect them in theform of ‘rights’. Article 12 of the CRC gives children the right to express their opinion and to have thatopinion taken into account in issues that affect them. Article 13 gives children the right to obtain and makeknown information as well as to express their opinions, except when this violates the right of others.Articles 14 through 17 give children the freedom of thought and religion (Art. 14), the freedom ofassociation (Art. 15), the right to privacy (Art.16), and the right of access to appropriate information (Art. 17).Culture change and tokenismThe documents and agreements mentioned above reveal that we are in the challenging process oftransferring the control of health promotion and education to local communities and their citizens,including young people. Adults will need to let go of some of the direct control they have over young peopleand endeavour to involve them in policy-making and prevention programmes. The end product ofparticipation is not revolution or revolt, but a partnership between different age groups. This is a new role foryoung people and they will need to be guided into this new responsibility by adults.However, we must be careful to avoid the dangers of what Hart has called ‘manipulation’ and ‘tokenism’,where young people become mere ornaments in a political process 3 . The aim of participation is not simplyto give young people a voice, but to enable them to take responsibility for their own health. Peer educationfocuses directly on increasing youth participation and empowerment; to accomplish this task young p e o p l eneed support and guidance from adults.We need to seriously consider the benefits of young people participating in health promotion programmesand in the decisions that affect them. This is important because young people are an essential asset tosociety – making a commitment to them is a commitment to the future 4 .European guidelines for youth AIDS peer education 15
Child-initiated,shared decisionswith adultsChild-initiatedand directedAdult-initiated,shared decisionswith childrenConsulted andinformedAssigned butinformedTokenismDecorationManipulationThe Ladder of ParticipationHart’s Ladder of Participation is frequently referred to in theseguidelines. We have reproduced it here. Hart designed it as atypology to guide thinking about children’s participation.1 Manipulation. If young people have no understanding of theissues and hence do not understand their actions, then thisis manipulation.2 Decoration. This is described as one rung up from‘manipulation’ as the adults do not pretend that the cause isinspired by children. They simply use children to bolster theircause in an indirect way.3 Tokenism. Young people are given a voice, but in fact havelittle choice about the subject or the style of communicatingit, and little or no opportunity to formulate their ownopinions. A good example is the token use of children onconference panels.4 Assigned but informed. This rung of the ladder marks thestart of true participation.• The children understand the aims of the project;• They know who made the decisions concerning theirinvolvement and why;• They have a meaningful role;• They volunteer for this project after the project was madeclear to them.5 Consulted and informed. The project is designed and run byadults, but young people understand the process and theiropinions are treated seriously.6 Adult-initiated, shared decisions. Though the projects areinitiated by adults, the decision-making is shared withyoung people.7 Child-initiated and directed. When the conditions aresupportive, even young children can work cooperatively inlarge groups.8 Child-initiated, shared decisions with adults. Projects likethese are all too rare. This is not due to the absence of adesire to be useful on the part of the teenagers. It is ratherthe absence of adults attuned to the particular interests ofyoung people.(Source: Hart, R. 1992. Children’s participation: from tokenism to citizenship. Innocenti Essays. No. 4,UNICEF, New York, USA).Why AIDS peer education?Young people and adultsYoung people are equally or even more concerned about HIV than adults. In a 1995 survey conducted by theEuropean Commission 5 based on 18,500 interviews in all EU member states, 80% of young people in the15–24 age group indicated they wanted more information about HIV. Only 14% of young people believedthey would ‘never catch AIDS’, compared to 25% of adults. Young people were found to be better informedthan adults about HIV transmission and protection.HIV and its spread is a collective concern involving everyone. Decision No. 747/96/EC by the EuropeanParliament and Council reinforces the point: ‘AIDS is a phenomenon that poses a dilemma not only for thoseparts of human relationships of most intimate concern to individuals, but also for modes of collective behaviour.’16 European guidelines for youth AIDS peer education
Page 4: ContentsPreface 4Foreword 5Chapter
Page 7: The final step was to re-write the
Page 11: Besides, how could an outside exper
Page 14 and 15: Chapter 2Policy making and AIDS pee
Page 18 and 19: In most European societies young pe
Page 20 and 21: Project evaluation - a policy quest
Page 22 and 23: Project processesSetting up and imp
Page 24 and 25: coalition. Projects that will invol
Page 26 and 27: What distinguishes this approach fr
Page 28: • an ability to work in groups an
Page 31 and 32: Chapter 4Training and implementatio
Page 33 and 34: It is recommended that the HIV/AIDS
Page 35 and 36: techniques, the presentation of lec
Page 37 and 38: • information kiosks• booklets
Page 39 and 40: exchange of ideas and experience. T
Page 41 and 42: Equity and empowermentHealth promot
Page 43 and 44: Models of systematic evaluationa Re
Page 45 and 46: Questionnaires can be descriptive i
Page 47 and 48: Appendix 1Field interview questions
Page 49 and 50: Appendix 2Projects interviewed fort
Page 51 and 52: Appendix 3Charter and resolutionCha
Page 53 and 54: The role of the health sector must
Page 55 and 56: 4 School environmentThe health prom

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