Abstract #48  -  Developing and Implementing an HIV/AIDS and Gender Education project in Catholic Schools in South Africa 2001 to 2009: Learnings, successes and challenges
Authors:   Presenting Author:   Ms Anne French - Catholic Institute of Education
Additional Authors:
Aim: The Catholic Institute of Education, Johannesburg, South Africa, established an HIV/AIDS Prevention and Gender Unit in 1999. The first phase of this project was designed by the donor organization in consultation with the implementing partner but without a needs analysis being carried out in the schools that the project was aimed at, and with little insight into underlying barriers that might exist when implementing the project. The focus of this project was on teachers implementing a life skills programme with learners. It appeared straightforward as implementing a life skills programme in relation to the National Curriculum, with learners in grades R – 6 was not that challenging from a teachers’ point of view. The project implementers were welcomed by most schools. There was little that needed to be explained about sex since a sound approach to sexuality education with younger learners was appropriate for the age group. Lessons for example, were about good and bad touches, changes to be expected during adolescence and a biological instruction on the male and female anatomy. When life skills education was implemented in grade 7 – grade 12 phase, the project team encountered some major challenges. It became more apparent that the social context in which many learners and teachers found themselves in was strongly culturally influenced and characterized by violence. Messages about HIV prevention which stressed delaying sexual debut or to remain faithful appeared to miss these aspects of the lived reality. Teaching life skills to learners, where sex education has to be more explicit and where learners may be already sexually active was challenging to teachers. Delivering lessons on sex education in high school settings opened a new set of interconnected challenges. The first part of this paper explains how these interconnected challenges were addressed as they have emerged. The second part of the paper focuses on the effect the project on the project facilitators.
Method / Issue: Some of issues the project implementers faced and had to address included the following:  Encouraging teachers to teach sex education in a frank and impartial way when teachers insist that there are cultural and religious barriers to talking about sex and sexuality;  Talking about sex and sexuality raises issues about gender violence, sexual harassment and abuse;  Addressing issues of gender violence, sexual harassment and abuse in turn raise questions about the social context in which people live.  The project implementers themselves face their own cultural and religious ideas they had grown up with in order to approach teachers in an authentic and persuasive manner, and this was not always easy.
Results / Comments: Teachers need training on how to talk about sex and how to discuss sex with their learners. We are proposing to develop materials which will be used to train teachers in this field. All members of the facilitation team agreed that the project had had a personal impact on them. They have become more confident and more assertive. They are aware of issues around gender that previously they had not given much attention.
Discussion: This paper will address the two issues described above: overcoming challenges related to delivering a sexuality education programmes and the impact of a gender based project on the project implementers.
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