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Sex workers in Mashava have faced stigma and discrimination as their work is considered unacceptable by the community; many religious groups believe sex work is a sin and against the law of God. As a result, sex workers are viewed as a disgrace to society and these attitudes are shared by service providers. Consequently, sex workers face challenges in accessing sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services and rights. When they do gather the courage to access SRH services for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), they are asked to bring their partners. This acts as a barrier to their accessing treatment as – since they have multiple sex partners – tracing their STI contact is difficult.

By Runyararo Mutariswa

“A rapist does not have to be a stranger, someone you never saw or a man with obvious problems to be legitimate. If you have been in public with him, danced one dance, kissed him goodbye lightly with a closed mouth, pressing charges will be as hard as keeping your legs closed while five fools try and run a train on you. These men, friends of ours, who smile nicely, take you out to dinner, then lock the door behind you.”

These lines from the movie ‘For Coloured Girls’ shed some light on the problematic nature of intimate sexual violence.

I am a 2017 SAfAIDS Young People’s Leadership Academy (YPLA) mentee, currently working as a Project Officer with Girls Empowerment Network (GENET) in Mzimba, Malawi. As a young person, I am passionate about the empowerment of young people, particularly girls, to prevent gender-based violence (GBV). On completing the first YPLA training module, I was very motivated to create change in my community and country. I utilised the knowledge I had gained through the training, along with other resources, to develop a sexual gender-based violence (SGBV) training manual for community members.

UNAIDS and UNFPA Launch Road Map to Stop New HIV Infections

Press Release

UNAIDS and UNFPA launch road map to stop new HIV infections
Global HIV Prevention Coalition holds first meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, to find ways to strengthen and sustain political commitment for HIV prevention

GENEVA, 10 October 2017—As part of global efforts to end AIDS as a public health threat, UNAIDS, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and partners have launched a new road map to reduce new HIV infections. The HIV prevention 2020 road map was launched at the first meeting of the Global HIV Prevention Coalition. The coalition is chaired by the Executive Directors of UNAIDS and UNFPA and brings together United Nations Member States, civil society, international organizations and other partners as part of efforts to reduce new HIV infections by 75% by 2020.

This day is set aside by the United Nations (UN) to highlight the gender inequality that girls face on a daily basis. Every girl deserves equal opportunities to excel in every facet of their lives and attain a bright future. However, this right continues to be violated gravely.  UN Women reports that every 10 minutes an adolescent girl dies as a result of violence somewhere in the world.  Nineteen percent of all women and girls between the ages of 15 to 49 years have experienced physical and/or sexual violence. Child marriage is rampant in most African communities and the voice of the girl child is all too often silenced.

‘Our Money, Our Budget’ Social Media Bash on the 2018 National Budget Presentation

Zambian finance minister, Felix Mutati, presented the 2018 National Budget to Parliament on 29 September, 2017. Due to the limitations in young people attending this event at the National Assembly, SAfAIDS in partnership with Action Aid (Global Platform Zambia) and CSPR provided live online coverage of the event on social media. This was conducted in the form of live tweets and Facebook updates so the adolescents both debated and shared their instant reactions to the policy pronouncements and budgetary allocations in the national budget as the minister of finance was presenting them .

MEDIA RELEASE

Women and girls are counting on us!

Enforce the right to accessible, safe and legal abortion now

Windhoek, Namibia, 28 September 2017 – On International Safe Abortion Day, marked on 28 September, the AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa (ARASA), the Alliance of Women Advocating for Change (AWAC), SAfAIDS and the Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC) call on African governments to ensure universal access to safe abortion by decriminalising abortion and amending or repealing laws that prevent women and girls from accessing abortions or post abortion care.  

Gender-based violence (GBV) has emotional consequences for both its survivors and for the perpetrators. When Granny Matebalo Thabana’s son disappeared without a word, leaving his family of five behind she, her daughter-in-law and the children were left devastated. Granny Matebalo and her daughter-in-law were numbed, while the children felt abandoned and unworthy of love and affection.

Extreme Violence Is A Result Of Toxic Masculinity

By Alvine Kapitako

Windhoek

Society conditions men to bottle up their emotions instead of expressing themselves in a healthy way, explained Delene van Dyk – a psychosexual educator from South Africa – during a three-day workshop aimed at preventing the stigma and discrimination experienced by key populations under the Key Populations Representation, Evidence and Advocacy for Change in Health (KP REACH) regional programme, in which SAfAIDS is the technical lead.

From YPISA Champion To Child MP – Martha Chivanga

Martha Chivanga, from Ngundu High School in Chivi District, started out as a Young People’s Information Service Advocacy (YPISA) champion and eventually emerged as child MP for Chivi District. The knowledge and skills she gained on sexual and reproductive health issues from the YPISA training have given her the confidence to eagerly grab opportunities as they arise. Now, as a child MP she is able to represent her peers at both national level  and in her school.