Youth in the village of Thamaga.
What does the girl's t-shirt say ?
"I am young enough to be your daughter; stay away from me !"
This t-shirt was developed by the Botswana Christian AIDS Intervention Programme (BOCAIP), the organization at which I am placed.
BOCAIP saw a need to address the issue of HIV transmission through inter-generational sex, in recognition that the highest rates of new infection occur in young women, between the ages of 25-30, at 8.73%, and men, between the ages of 45-49, at 8.13%.
* See "comments" for an explanation.
* An explanation from the Progress Report of the National Response to the 2001 Declaration of Commitment on HIV and AIDS: Botswana Country Report, 2010:
ReplyDeleteIn Botswana,"... HIV infections are much higher for girls than for boys in the 15–24 age-group and beyond. Early exposure to older men with a longer sexual history is considered to have accounted for the higher infections among adolescent girls, thereby bringing into play intergenerational sexual intercourse as a significant risk factor. Studies have shown that some of the major factors that appear to drive intergenerational sexual relationships in Botswana are monetary gain and material support. Overall, the greater the economic asymmetries between partners, the greater the value of a gift, service, or money exchanged for sex, and the less likely the practice of safe sex."
Very interesting Stephanie, thank you for this
ReplyDeleteMerci for the feedback, Suzanne. Just let me know what kind of posts would be of interest to you and others at Uniterra, and I'll do my best to tailor a couple. And please - let me know if / when I am a little lax about mentioning Uniterra when I refer to WUSC. Sometimes I use them inter-changably, or one and not the other.
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