Teaching youth about sexuality

| August 10, 2015

Download this story

Problems with HIV and AIDS are closely related to many complex social and cultural issues. For example, in some cultures, some men are encouraged to “prove” their manliness and virility by having sex with many partners. In some cultures, young girls have “sugar daddies” who trade sex for other kinds of favours. Widow inheritance may also have an impact on the spread of HIV and AIDS.

The spread and infection rate of HIV and AIDS is impacted by cultural, social and power dynamics. These dynamics can include the inability to negotiate safe condom use, and the poverty that drives some women and men to the sex trade.

In this script, a woman living with HIV argues that not teaching young people about sex and sexuality may lead to the spread of HIV and have other negative consequences. Another interviewee talks about the need to teach youth about sex and sexuality in schools, homes and religious institutions.

This is obviously a hotly debated topic. What does your audience think? As a broadcaster, you can contribute to community solutions to these issues by broadcasting this script and other programs on the subject. You might want to follow the script with a phone-in program which invites listeners to express their opinions on the issues raised in the script.

http://www.farmradio.org/radio-resource-packs/package-98-groundnuts-the-post-harvest-value-chain/teaching-youth-about-sexuality/