"Contentious Issues" - HIVAN/WCRP Religious Leaders and HIV/AIDS Researchers Forum - March 2004

?“Questions you always wanted to ask your religious leader about HIV, but were too afraid to ask ?…?” was the focus of a forum co-convened by HIVAN and the World Conference on Religion and Peace (WCRP) at the first session of their 2004 series on 3 March at the Durban Jewish Centre in KwaZulu-Natal.

Facilitating the discussions were two highly active FBO networkers, WCRP Chairperson Paddy Meskin, and HIVAN?’s Project Manager Debbie Heustice, while faith leaders and HIV/AIDS researchers engaged in dialogue with panel members on pre-set topics relating to pre-marital counselling and HIV testing. Other questions focusing on the ?“sin / punishment?” theory underlying stigma and discrimination around HIV/AIDS were posed, and the audience was invited to share less formalised queries.

The panel of speakers was made up of Reverend Bellina Mangena and social worker Ms Wendy Jones of the Anglican Church, Rabbi Michael Standfield representing Judaism, Moulana Abbas Khan, member of the Islamic Medical Association and Dr Thillay Naidoo of the Rama Krishna Society, representing the Hindu faith.

The session began with Jenny Khan asking each faith-leader whether their respective religious doctrines educated youth on sex and sexuality. Reverend Mangena, speaking in her personal capacity, replied that the Anglican Church did address this subject, with sexual contact being framed as ordained for and within marriage, and restricted to heterosexual partnerships.

Rabbi Standfield said that in Judaism: ?“?… the answer is ?‘No?’. Sex is not normally discussed in mixed company. Until the second World War, daughters were ?‘guarded?’ and marriages were arranged by parents for their children, although now this is only practised rigidly by very Orthodox Jews.?” He said that the purity of the family was essential to Jewish tradition, with fathers teaching boys and mothers teaching girls the ?“facts of life?”. The Rabbi noted, however, that these were their ideal precepts and were not normative in contemporary lifestyles, Jewish or otherwise.

Moulana Khan explained that in Islam, since sex is considered to be a natural and necessary part of life, there was no suppression of the topic. ?“Every boy and girl must learn the correct behaviours in relation to sexual contact,?” he said. ?“Our religious elders educate the congregation about sexual matters, and give guidance on hygiene and marriage as part of the sacred teachings, but parents are also expected to inform their children, especially once puberty is reached and the genders are separated.?” He confirmed that AIDS awareness information was also being conveyed to youth regularly during vernacular teaching sessions.

Dr Naidoo replied that in the South African Hindu community, no formal sexual education system existed. ?“Until the last 30-odd years, ours has been a very conservative group,?” he said. ?“I?’m not sure how much discussion about sex takes place in individual homes between parents and children. Even if there are more formal programmes being set up by Hindu Associations, parents are still the ones bearing the responsibility for guiding their children around sexuality, HIV/AIDS and more general health issues.?”

Wendy Jones urged the panelists to comment on whether or not they thought these approaches were adequate and appropriate, while Jenny Khan added that family life in modern homes was highly variable, with many children being raised by single parents, two sets of remarried or co-habiting biological parents, along with step-siblings and half-brothers or half-sisters. In some AIDS-ravaged communities, only a grandmother was left to care for the children. ?“How can our youth emulate positive role-models when there is no cohesive family structure in our society??” she asked.

Pravash from the audience observed that one could not prescribe what a positive role-model would be, noting that many same-sex relationships could be as or even more stable than male-female marriages. Nobuhle Mkhize from the Medical Research Council?’s Vaccine Research Unit, agreed, saying: ?“We are all so different. Kids don?’t see in their homes what they are being taught through religions, so what are they supposed to believe and practise? Perhaps both faith-leaders and families or communities need to converge in step with current social dynamics and the reality on the ground ?– how else can we address the confusion our children must be going through??”

The influence of television was raised as a negative factor in the difficult task of managing youth sexuality education, and another parent said that it was not merely a matter of ?“what?” but also ?“when??”, with children becoming more sexually aware and even active, in some instances, at 11 years of age or younger. Patricia Mpanza, a traditional healer attached to HIVAN?’s sectoral networking team, said that in her practice, the African tradition of virginity testing of boys and girls was being conducted, incorporating appropriate guidance around the physical and psycho-social issues relating to sexual contact.

Rev Mangena acknowledged that faith-based organisations and leadership have been ?“holding onto dogmatic ideals?” but said that they were being increasingly ?“stretched?” and challenged to deal with the changing models of family and social culture. ?“However, having said that, I believe the most important and enduring lessons we can give our children are about love and support,?” she said.

Moulana Khan commented: ?“What is our intention as faith leaders in this regard? Are we sincere in tackling this as believers? After all, a thief is a thief ?– you can?’t be too liberal about this subject. This is why it should be a community effort, involving civil leaders, parents and schoolteachers as well, so that we can be unified in confronting these issues. Take the TV programme Sex and The City ?– is this healthy viewing for children??”

The full report can be downloaded on the righthand side of this page