In Tanzania's remote Newala District, adolescent girls are met with unwanted sexual advances on their way to the neighbours' house, to the water well, to the store. They often feel forced to give in. Sometimes, they're raped. Girls are even scared to go to school because, they say, some teachers "just want to have sex with you."
Such sexual violence puts 12 to 17-year-old girls in these Tanzanian communities at greater risk of being infected by HIV. They're not alone. Globally, girls and young women are more likely to be HIV-positive than their male peers, with females accounting for more than 60% of people between the ages of 15 and 24 living with HIV.
At the heart of these statistics lies the reality that girls' lives are shaped by gender inequalities and norms that are harmful to their mental and physical wellbeing. This was true of the environment in Newala District where International Centre for Research on Women researchers embarked on a participatory research project to better understand the myriad ways that adolescent girls are susceptible to HIV, and design a programme that addressed their most pressing risks. Called "Vitu Newala" or "Yes Youth Can," the effort was conducted in partnership withTaasisi ya Maendeleo Shirikishi Arusha (Tamasha) and funded by ViiV Healthcare's Positive Action programme.
Source: The Guardian
Je, nini kifanyike? maana tatizo hili si kwa vijana wa kike tu hata kwa wanawake watu wazima hujikuta kwenye maambukizi ya UKIMWI kwasababu tu ya ubaguzi na manyanyaso ya kijinsia.
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