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WCRP-HIVAN FORUM WORKSHOP ?– 11 August 2005 Gender Violence: Its impact on HIV/AIDS
Judith King, Communications, Arts and Advocacy Unit, HIVAN
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The day?’s workshop had been sponsored by the African Forum of Faith-based Organisations in Reproductive Health and HIV/AIDS, an alliance formed to provide an effective mechanism for FBOs to increase their capacity as agents for change, to have a stronger voice at local, national and international levels, and to advocate for increased recognition of women?’s and men?’s rights to modern, safe, integrated and affordable sexual and reproductive health services.
The August Forum Workshop was the first of a series of research meetings, the proceedings of which would be compiled as a full report and issued at the end of 2006. The agenda was designed to foreground gender violence in the spheres of influence enjoyed by FBOs and religious leadership, in order to ensure the safety and wellbeing of women and girls in particular, but also of men and boys, all of whom experience violence in some form.
(From left): Dr Fiona Scorgie, Dr Thabisa Dumisa, Ms Cookie Edwards and Ms Ela Gandhi.
In a moving and thought-provoking keynote address, Prof Jerry Coovadia, HIVAN?’s Director of Biomedical Research, provided an overview of the statistical, medical, social, economic, ethical and moral facets of the pandemic, being conditions within which gender violence positioned HIV and AIDS as a refractory force. He began by saying that as practitioners in the arena of HIV and AIDS, the guest speakers at the WCRP-HIVAN fora were committed to interaction between the academe, NGOs and CBOs, believing that listening to audiences is as important as speaking to them in the cause of both gaining and sharing vital information about the course and nature of the pandemic.
?“Something is terribly wrong with the HIV/AIDS statistics and strategy in this country.?” The most recent report on HIV Sero-prevalence issued by the Ministry of Health had estimated that 6,5 million citizens were HIV-positive, indicating, in his view, that as a society, we are failing in our attempts to reduce the spread of HIV. He compared this number with that offered by the Actuarial Society of SA (ASSA), which had analysed data, drawn from the Department of Health?’s ante-natal clinic records, under the Doyle model (used by insurance companies to calculate risks and premiums for policies), arriving at a figure of 5,2 million. Stats SA has pegged the level at 4,5 million. ?“These variations highlight that we are not understanding the science behind the spread of the pandemic,?” he said, ?“and these conflicting figures confuse people, creating conspiracy theories, myths and misconceptions. How do we search for truth, since these are only estimates? Why is HIV infection increasing through our nation??”
Prof Coovadia noted that despite the intense debate and drama around anti-retroviral therapy, particularly Nevirapine for prevention of mother-to-child transmission, the government had implemented its national programme for provision of ARVs and other care and support plans. ?“There are also many school and peer education projects, workplace efforts, TV edutainment initiatives, and millions of Rands being spent in trying to lower the rate of risky behaviour, to quell teenage pregnancies and STIs, encouraging delayed sex, abstinence, fidelity, and condom usage. This panoply of interventions has been in place for more than 10 years, but we are not achieving behaviour change.?”
?“More money doesn?’t seem to be the answer,?” he said, ?“and it is not certain that a technical input will be the entire solution. We have to ask ourselves what we are missing; is there something deeper that we have to examine, and does it have to do with people?’s beliefs, character, relationships with other human beings, and in particular, men?’s relationships and attitudes towards women? These attitudes translate into behaviour, but they don?’t capture the essence of what motivates us to be health-seeking.?”
?“What has happened to human responses such as caring, affection and compassion? No government in the world can legislate these responses. Ten years ago, Uganda had just as high a prevalence as did South Africa; they did many things, and while there is no clear, single winning formula, now the Ugandans have been able to lower their expenditure on HIV strategies. A report based on findings from the Ugandan model demonstrates how a focus on these approaches has been successful, and it indicates that one reason for success in Uganda, Cambodia, Senegal and Tanzania, is that these countries communicated messages about AIDS between people, at a micro-relational level, through social intercourse, so that the information moved through society on the ground, not within elite and divided sectors. It seems that the chord we need to strike is how we relate to each other.?”
?“In South Africa, we have an exemplary Constitution built around strong human rights clauses, as well as an intelligent and independent judiciary, a substantial body of legislation to protect gender rights, a Gender Commission, and growing numbers of women in government, supported by mass-media campaigns such as loveLife and Soul City. However, unless people themselves are convinced and committed enough to engage directly with each other about it, AIDS will defeat us. This is my personal opinion and I cannot prove it scientifically, but I have observed that AIDS is not like diabetes or heart disease. With those diseases, it?’s virtually certain that certain lifestyle changes and medication will result in efficient management of the conditions that will enhance and prolong life. We have studies that prove this efficacy ?– but with AIDS, how do we conduct similar research? We have the best brains in the world working on the science, but it?’s not helping us. Even strong leadership cannot guarantee behaviour change among individual citizens.?”
Prof Coovadia outlined how the impacts of HIV and AIDS affect women most severely; the ASSA figures show that in southern Africa, 2,4 million men and 2,8 million women are HIV-positive. ?“These are stark figures that present women as having a special significance for us. If we contextualise this in our country, we must recognise that there is profound unhappiness in our society: this is evidenced by the current frequency and spread of strikes and protests around poverty and unemployment, the fight for better sanitation, housing and other services, and even the rage on our roads.?”
Full Document on the right
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