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The Soft Cover Project: Youth Participation in HIV/AIDS Interventions

By Walsh, S, Mitchell, C., Smith, A.
Agenda: Empowering women for gender equity.
Durban: Agenda Feminist Publishing (2002).

This briefing arises out of our current action-oriented work as educators, activists and researchers addressing gender and HIV with youth in South Africa. Situated within this work are two fundamental concerns. The first is the need to explore ways in which youth themselves can be active participants in HIV prevention. It is important to situate youth as agents in the production and consumption of knowledge about HIV prevention so as to allow for a more engaged discussion with them on these issues. The second concern has to do with ensuring the centrality of a localised gender analysis in HIV program-ming – because young women in South Africa are two to three times more likely to become infected with HIV than are young men (Abt -Associates/ LoveLife, 2000). The global scope of some prevention campaigns has left gaps in the key areas of gender, culture, and social context. In this briefing we draw on our work in the Soft Cover project, a Canadian Society for International Health initiative, involving the Centre for the Book in Cape Town and a small group of youth from the Western Cape, to explore some of the issues and concerns to ensuring gender-sensitive and participatory approaches to HIV prevention with youth.

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	Other Publications The Soft Cover Project: Youth Participation in HIV/AIDS Interventions By Walsh, S, Mitchell, C., Smith, A. Agenda: Empowering women for gender equity. Durban: Agenda Feminist Publishing (2002). This briefing arises out of our current action-oriented work as educators, activists and researchers addressing gender and HIV with youth in South Africa. Situated within this work are two fundamental concerns. The first is the need to explore ways in which youth themselves can be active participants in HIV prevention. It is important to situate youth as agents in the production and consumption of knowledge about HIV prevention so as to allow for a more engaged discussion with them on these issues. The second concern has to do with ensuring the centrality of a localised gender analysis in HIV program-ming – because young women in South Africa are two to three times more likely to become infected with HIV than are young men (Abt -Associates/ LoveLife, 2000). The global scope of some prevention campaigns has left gaps in the key areas of gender, culture, and social context. In this briefing we draw on our work in the Soft Cover project, a Canadian Society for International Health initiative, involving the Centre for the Book in Cape Town and a small group of youth from the Western Cape, to explore some of the issues and concerns to ensuring gender-sensitive and participatory approaches to HIV prevention with youth. Back to Publications Home