HIV/AIDS and sex education among the youth in Zambia: Towards behavioral change?

Dr. Thera Rasing is a cultural anthropologist who specializes in gender issues. She has conducted research on female initiation rites in urban Zambia and has recently been involved in a HIV/AIDS project for the youth in Zambia. She is currently affiliated to the Leiden University Medical Centre LUMC, Department of Culture, Health and Illness.

Zambia is one of the Southern African countries with a very high prevalence of HIV/AIDS. Many HIV/AIDS campaigns so far have focused on the adult and adolescent population. Sexual behaviour, however, starts at an early age and children should therefore be informed about HIV/AIDS before they start being sexually active.

This presentation will focus on sex education in the past, such as that given during initiation rites and today as it is given in schools, and examines how sex education for girls and boys both in traditional and modern teaching has been changing. It will analyse sexual relationships between young people and notions of sexuality in Zambian culture. More general questions regarding the impact of HIV/AIDS on Zambian society will also be addressed. What are the demographic consequences of HIV/AIDS and what are the gender issues involved?

In conclusion, some NGO HIV/AIDS campaigns will be presented and suggestions will be given for more culturally appropriate ways of teaching the youth about HIV/AIDS.