Walking the Talk - VSO

Box 2. The Climbing to Manhood Project, Chogoria hospital, KenyaIn Kenya, the Climbing to Manhood Project of Chogoria hospital uses the practice of circumcision, a traditionalrite of passage, to address issues around young men’s sense of manhood and masculinity. During the time ofcircumcision around the age of 15, boys are expected to undergo physical, psychological and behaviouralchanges associated with manhood, and may be encouraged to begin having sexual relations. Chogoria hospitalrecognised the time around this ceremony as an opportunity to inform boys about sexual health. Incorporatingthe seclusion and bonding that occur as part of traditional circumcision rites, groups of boys participating in theproject spend a week together in a special ward following hospital circumcision. Men from the communityincluding healthcare workers, pastors and teachers explore a range of topics with them including STIs and HIVand AIDS, community expectations of men, and issues surrounding violence. 92musicians as good sources of HIV-prevention messages. 84In South Africa, women mentioned Soul City and Lovelife,TV programmes that have been targeting youth with HIVpreventioninformation. Soul City has in fact been verysuccessful in its outreach and replication in other countriesof the region, including the creation of school clubs.International donors, including DFID, fund the project andit provides a clear case of good practice. Governmentsand donors should fund additional and large-scaleprogrammes that raise awareness of HIV prevention withthe participation of women and girls. These campaignsmust go hand in hand with programmes challenginggender norms so that women and girls’ knowledge aboutHIV and AIDS is accompanied by the necessary power tonegotiate safer sex.Public campaigns must also reflect women’s rights, theneed for women’s empowerment and women’sleadership in order to be effective. The ABHAYA projectin India, for example, raises awareness amongvulnerable and excluded groups of their rights andentitlements. The project has had substantial successbasing HIV-prevention messages on women’s rights. Asone sex worker explained:“Here I learnt that if we sex workers unite, we willbe able to get our rights. We talked aboutviolence and how we can protect ourselves fromviolence, and that we have the right to askquestions. I come to ABHAYA for the monthlysupport group meetings and visit the STI clinicregularly. I have also learnt about safe sex andHIV and AIDS after coming here and have startedinsisting on using condoms ever since.” 85However, among the women interviewed for thisresearch, this experience seems to be the exceptionrather than the rule. Many women and girls remainunaware of their rights. Some members of a focusgroup of women living with HIV and AIDS inBangladesh, for example, argued that women are“usually unaware of their basic rights”. 86 For otherrespondents, women seemed to be “programmed froman early age to think of themselves as unequal and thusthey are not aware of their rights as individuals”. 87Finally, women and girls’ access to HIV preventioninformation and services often lies in the hands ofhusbands, fathers, community leaders and serviceproviders who play the role of gatekeepers. For example,women and girls are often deliberately left in the darkregarding their husband’s HIV status as well as their own.One focus group in Bangladesh reported cases of womenwhose husbands had infected them knowingly andsubsequently refused them or their children an HIV test. 88“When a male is identified as positive, it oftentakes considerable convincing and coercing forthem to get their families tested” [and thehusband] “always makes that decision.” 89To resolve this, one focus group participant in Nigeriaemphasised that:“Messages should be made in such a way thatthey give power to women to freely makechoice[s] and take decisions on usage ofprevention tools like condom[s].” 90In particular, community awareness-raising initiativesneed to be long-term, strategic and sustainable. 91 Theyneed to enable women to increase their participation,power and equality in the community and familyspheres, lead men to act responsibly and respect theirwives’ rights, and enable women and girls to sharetheir positive status publicly without violence, stigmaand discrimination.Walking the talk putting women's rights at the heart of the HIV and AIDS response 23