Selling safe sex

Selling safe sex

10 April 2013, Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), Suva, Fiji –

At church, at the dinner table, at work or at school, we are surrounded by HIV prevention messages, and many of us have heard the common refrain: Abstain, Be Faithful, Use a Condom, otherwise known as ‘ABC’.

But what works? Which behaviours are key to protecting yourself from HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and how do we best communicate this to our communities?

SPC Strategic Health Communication Team Leader Nicol Cave will be working with the Tuvalu Ministry of Health, civil society and faith-based groups next week to determine the most appropriate mix for Tuvalu’s young people.

The strategic health communication training workshop will be preceded by focus group research with 12–16 year old girls to understand knowledge, attitudes, perceptions, and barriers to abstinence-until-marriage, as a way to prevent STIs including HIV.

‘To be effective, we need to take into account the cultural, social, political and economic contexts that shape people’s sexual behaviour, and perception of risk,’ says Ms Cave.

‘HIV and STI prevention campaigns targeting school girls, for example, will not be appropriate for sex workers, seafarers or even the general population.’

‘Interventions, whether they be condom promotion or abstinence campaigns, need to be accepted by target populations, and widely and systematically promoted,’ says Ms Cave.

‘Research shows that abstinence only campaigns, for example, do not resonate with young boys or teenagers, but have been more successful when targeted at pre-teen girls.’

A major outcome of the workshop will be the design of an abstinence campaign targeting young girls, drawing on the focus group research and international best practice.

The SPC Public Health Division supports PICTs with STI and HIV prevention; counselling and diagnosis; treatment, care and support as well as leadership, governance and strategic communication.

These activities are made possible due to funding from the HIV and STI Pacific Response Fund, supported by Australia and New Zealand and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria; and through collaboration with partners including UN agencies.

Background information:

SPC works in the following sectors: fisheries, agriculture, forestry, water resources, geoscience, transport, energy, disaster risk management, public health, statistics, education, human rights, gender, youth and culture.

Publications: SPC publications are available on its website (www.spc.int/en/publications.html ).

SPC member countries and territories: American Samoa, Australia, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, France, French Polynesia, Guam, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Pitcairn Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, United States of America, Vanuatu, Wallis and Futuna.

ENDS

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