Re: Methodology for AIDS awarenss

[Guest guest]

Dear Forum,

Pushpa Narayan's problem is one of the most common problems which we face in

communities. This has been a catch 22 situation but I feel that most of the

times it is because we do not keep the receivers of the message in mind that

we land up in all sorts of confusion. Having worked in this field for about

14 years now, I have had no major problems in conveying the message. Let me

cite 2 situations to clarify.

Situation 1: I am talking to a group of late adolescents who are in school.

My approach is clear. No sex till marriage. After marriage , stick to one

faithful partner. I make it clear - one partner being faithful is not

sufficient, both the partners must be faithful. I proceed to tell that till

we are sure that all of us are faithful, we cannot be assured that we can be

safe. This group is then informed that in case someone is not able to

resist have sexual intercourse because of various reasons, then correct use

of condom is a must. However, the emphasis is on providing alternative to

people rather that to dictate the choice of alternatives. Somewhere down the

interaction, the harmlessness of masturbation is strongly emphasised.

Situation 2 : I am interacting with a group of sex workers . Here also, my

approach is clear. Whenever you have sex, ensure that you use condoms

regularly- no matter where the penetration is . This serves dual purpose -

this prevents you from acquiring STD/ HIV and also, compels the client(s)

into having sex with condoms with every one. As interaction(s) proceed and

there is a development of a good rapport, reducing number of clients,

reducing " unsafe " penetrations and alternative income generations are

provided as alternative choices. Never had I advocated for a single

alternative and the onus of informed choice is user driven rather that

provider dictated.

With the little knowledge/ experience, I have gathered in this field, I

shall be glad to respond to your further queries.

Regards.

Dr Chiranjeeb Kakoty

NESPYM

Ashram Road

Near Water Tanks

Ulubari, Guwahati 781 007

E.mail : chkakoty1@...

[Guest guest]

Dear Forum,

I strongly believe that the AIDS awareness program can definitely increase the

awareness but the awareness programs must be targeted different risk groups

including general population. It must be designed and based suitably to address

on various aspects of risk factors. There should be always a pre and post

evaluation and follow up action among various groups to study the behavioural

change on account of various awareness on AIDS and prevention messages diffused.

At international level, the awareness programs have shown a success but changes

in behaviour of the community is slow. The messages must be redesigned to suit

to the local population in their own language. In this context, Health educators

at various levels must play an important role such as condom promotion, sense of

moral values of family system, educating the risk factors and how they can act

etc.,

Dr.S.Shanmuganandan,

Professor of Medical Geography

Madurai Kamaraj University,

Madurai-625021, Tamilnadu,

Tel: 91 452 2641022

Email: shanmug@...

[Guest guest]

Dear Forum Members

I like to remind myself and those i'm working with that communicating on

hiv/aids awareness is essentially and centrally communication about sexuality.

in a country that is unused to talking about anything private, and intimate, as

sexuality is, this sudden boom that we all expect in sexuality communication is

not happening. all that we see around us in the name of 'communication' is

workshops, theories about media and communciation, and notions about

parternships and sex, and plain old social mores. i dont think any hard

hitting, sensitive or realistic portrayal of sexuality exists in this country.

what we see is how some people think sexuality should be rather than what it is.

breaking sexuality down into its component sexual acts detracts from the

nuances, dilemmas, and subtle predicaments that we all face as sexual beings.

existing IEC material assumes that we are bodies sans minds and hearts.

its all very well to say that target groups should be instructed to remain

faithful to one partner or to use condoms. but if this line really worked we

would not have 3.9 million hiv + people in this country. its a sham really, for

we want to talk about condom use but actually have a law preventing the display

of a condom in the mass media. how are we supposed to educate people when good

ole indian culture (such a precious fragile thing we think it is when it has

survived all these millenia!!) has to be protected by self appointed guardians

of indianness.

the point being that sexuality cannot be boxed into how we think it should

happen. rather, the reality of sex, sexuality, desire, gender, and pwoer has to

be recognized and confronted head on in our communication strategies rather than

hiding behind limp instructions. (honestly if desire was so easy to control,

human society would have no problems at all). perhaps we all need to stop

talking about aids, stop talking about sexual acts that are high risk, adn talk

instead about emotions, desires, needs. its incredibly hard to do this, and we

in india dont seem to be trying at all.

we forget that risk and desire exists differently in different contexts and

these are polymorphous, " perverse " , and hevaily mediated by socio-cultural

factors. how can a sex worker be instructed to use a condom when she has very

little control over the sexual situation she is in. if all women had a necessary

degree of control over thier sexuality and relationships then perhaps we wouldnt

be in such a position. do we tell our wives our sisters our mothers to keep a

check on their men and make them use condoms? why do we think a sex worker has

more (or less?) control?

again, point being that sexuality has little to do with sex and lots to do with

intangibles that are hard to capture in a pithy little slogan.

its only ngos and interested individuals who can get together the money to do

slick effective communciation on sex and sexuality (not on HIV/AIDS!!!) and tell

it like it really is. because the government has no interest in really being

creative or innovative or pioneering in their communication and messaging.

also, there is hardly any ambitious upscaling of our communication strategies.

its not just content that has to be addressed but technology and methods as

well.

with the plethora of media and information out there why would an adolescent pay

attention to your didactic moralizing boring aids message when " real sex " is

available elsewhere on the internet or on tv. we live in a globalized world

where consumers are savvy about what they want, and that includes information.

what are we doing to tap into this reality? when are we going to throw should

and must out of the window and free our minds a little bit??

regards

Maya

E-mail: mayaganesh02@...>

[Guest guest]

Dear Forum,

Ref: Pushpa Narayan's posting on Methodology for AIDS awareness

I strongly believe that the AIDS awareness program can definitely

increase the awareness but the awareness programs must be targeted

different risk groups including general population. It must be

designed and based suitably to address on various aspects of risk

factors. There should be always a pre and post evaluation and follow

up action among various groups to study the behavioural change on

account of various awareness on AIDS and prevention messages

diffused. At international level, the awareness programs have shown a

success but changes in behaviour of the community is slow. The

messages must be redesigned to suit to the local population in their

own language. In this context, Health educators at various levels

must play an important role such as condom promotion, sense of moral

values of family system, educating the risk factors and how they can

act etc.,

Dr.S.Shanmuganandan,

Professor of Medical Geography

Madurai Kamaraj University,

Madurai-625021, Tamilnadu,

Tel: 91 452 2641022

Email: shanmug@...