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( m E( ( T {u ( YOUNG WOMENS DIALOGUE
I have a new identity
I am not a person living with HIV, I am a young woman living with HIV
[workshop participant]
Workshop Report
Hosted by International Community of Women Living with HIV and AIDS (ICW)
In partnership with Youth AIDS African Network (YAAN) and Gender AIDS Forum (GAF)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The following people and organisations were involved in making the YWD process a success:
The 14 young women who participated in the dialogue
The staff of the Gender AIDS Forum
The staff of ICW International Office
Youth AIDS African Network (YAAN)
ICW Regional Southern Africa Co-ordinator
AGENDA, Feminist Media Project
IDASA, Institute for Democracy in South Africa
ICW, YAAN and GAF would like to thank the CORE Initiative and The United Nations Family Planning Association (UNFPA) for funding the Dialogue.
From the Core Initiative - " Support for this communication is provided by the Global Bureau of Health, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), under the terms of the CORE Initiative Award No. GPH-A-00-03-00001-00. The CORE Initiative is a USAID-funded global program whose mission is to support an inspired, effective and inclusive response to the causes and consequences of HIV/AIDS by strengthening the capacity of community and faith-based groups worldwide. Leading this initiative is CARE International in partnership with the World Council of Churches (WCC), International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), International HIV/AIDS Alliance, and the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Center for Communication Programs (CCP). The opinions expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Agency for International Development."
INDEX
Background 4
Section One: Participants 5
Section Two: Process 7
Section Three: Outcomes 12
Section Four: Way Forward 17
Section Five: Evaluation 19
Appendix 1:
List of issues identified facing young women living with HIV and AIDS prior to the workshop.
Appendix 2:
List of issues identified facing young women living with HIV and AIDS during the workshop.
I have a new identity I am not a person living with HIV,
I am a young woman living with HIV
Background
In recent years international attention has focused on the vulnerability of young people, women and girls to the AIDS pandemic. In addition, there has been significant attention paid to the stigma and discrimination faced by people living with HIV/AIDS in communities around the world. Yet, there has been little recognition of the challenges faced by those whose identities lie at the intersection of all of these vulnerabilities young women living with HIV and AIDS.
While most efforts in the arena of youth development focus on prevention, the reality is that there are millions of young women who are already HIV positive. Young women are not simply older women packaged in smaller bodies. They are a vital part of the youth movement and play a significant role in African womens movements. Despite this, their activism and commitment to the fight against AIDS and to raising their siblings and children, educating communities about stigma and discrimination, and building their nations is seldom recognised.
To begin to address this lack of visibility the International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS (ICW), the Youth Against AIDS Network (YAAN) and the Gender AIDS Forum hosted A Dialogue for Young Women living with HIV/AIDS in Durban between 19th-23rd April 2004.
The dialogue brought together young African women living with HIV and AIDS in a safe space for young women to share experiences about the challenges of HIV/AIDS and to develop advocacy campaigns for highlighting the gender and human rights-based challenges faced by participants in each of their countries.
This report is divided into five sections:
Section one which focuses on the participants in the dialogue,
Section two describes the process
Section three the outcomes that is the advocacy strategies that were developed and the individual plans for each country are presented.
Section four outlines the way forward
Section five focuses on the evaluation
Section One:
Participants
Participants were chosen to attend the dialogue based on a set of criteria as well as on personal motivations along with the endorsement of their organisation. It was also important to get a geographical spread. ICW set up a selection committee to review the over 60 applications received.
Criteria:
Must be a young women aged 30 and below
Must be openly living with HIV/AIDS
Must be involved in an organisation and either doing or have the potential to advocate for the needs of young women living with HIV and AIDS
The initial round of screening was based on the criteria many of the applicants were above the age of 30 and where immediately screened out. Some women were not HIV positive so were also excluded.
The second round of selection was done on the basis of applicants answers to the following questions.
How long has it been since you disclosed?
How do you think that HIV affects women differently from men?
Do you consider yourself an activist? Whether or not, please tell us what the word activist means to you.
Please describe the work of your organization. In particular explain why your organization is interested in sending you to this workshop.
Please describe your work related to HIV and/or sexual and reproductive health.
What issues do you believe most pressing in your community with respect to young women and HIV.
What do you think the expectations are about young men and young womens behaviour in your society when it comes to relationships and sexuality? What do you think about these expectations?
What knowledge/skills do you hope to gain by attending this workshop?
What type of experience, skills or knowledge can you contribute to the workshop
How will you share and spread the skills you learn and the information you acquire in the workshop in your organisation/community/region?
In the end 18 young women living with HIV and AIDS were selected to participate in the dialogue. Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances four of the 18 women were unable to attend at the last minute and so only 14 women participated. These young women living with HIV and AIDS represented 8 countries in Eastern and Southern Africa namely:
Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Uganda and Zimbabwe.
The dialogue was also attended by Promise Mthembu representing ICW and was facilitated by Sisonke Msimang and Vicci Tallis.
The participants represented a diverse group of young women living with HIV and AIDS. Different identities that were acknowledge included:
Breadwinner, heterosexual, married, single, lesbian, activist, community worker, mother, counsellor, role model, black, white, daughter, sister
The participants also had diverse expectations of the dialogue. Expectations included:
Skills Building
Further knowledge on advocacy
Valuing womens issues
Best ways to address womens issues without offending men
How to get to hard to reach areas
Negotiating
How to get women to reach their full potential
Gender issues
Learn about how other young women live with the virus
Educate family on how to accommodate dying family member and integrate homosexuality
Strengthening advocacy
Introducing womens issues in my country
Ways to address how culture and traditions put young women at a disadvantage
How to advocate for our rights
How to reach more HIV positive women in communities and countries
Knowledge
Further knowledge on womens issues
Information on access to ARVs
Treatment and prevention options for women
Learn about experiences of young women who are HIV positive
How women are dealing with issues affecting them
Young womens vulnerability
Learn about ICW
Microbicides
Connecting
Help others
Learn, network and connect
Empowerment, encouragement
Learn from others experience individual and country
Network, share knowledge, encourage
Action
Leave with plan of action
Mobilising the voices of women living with HIV
Positive women being vocal about own issues
Learn about self transfer into action back home
Continuity, way forward
Women also expected to have fun and food of own choice.
The participants were invited to outline their FEARS:
People not opening up and people being shy
Dialogue not meeting all expectations
Dont achieve what we are fighting for
Failing the people in the community
Commuting from conference centre
Exams at end of workshop
Stress
No vaccine for HIV may be found
Talk and forget when we leave the workshop
Not understanding the information
Not able to express self and views
Conflict
Will we learn what we want
To get sick during the workshop
Toughness of workshop
Not being given money
Not being able to communicate with our home
Not all concerns recorded
Strategies on paper no action
Lack of public speaking skills
It was acknowledged that the group was diverse, and that the group members had identified many different realities and identities. Participants were encouraged to use all their identities to better achieve our activism and advocacy. Despite the diversity of the group it was also acknowledged that there were many voices of young women living with HIV and AIDS that were not present women under 20, lesbian and bisexual women, sex workers, young rural women and it was import to try and feed the realities of these identities into the process.
Section Two: The Process
In the initial planning for the dialogue the following objectives were identified:
To strengthen advocacy skills by developing a step-by-step campaign
To develop understanding and knowledge of sexual and reproductive rights
To incorporate gender analysis into campaign planning
To listen to, and document the experiences of young women living with HIV and AIDS
To build capacity in working with the media to further advocacy goals
To build capacity in understanding how government, parliament and budgeting works
This is reflected in the attached programme [Appendix 3].
Based on the expectations of the group, especially around the need for information and capacity building, the programme was modified with the facilitators allowing for extended discussions around specific issues when necessary.
The dialogue environment needed to be conducive to meeting the objectives and participants expectations through networking, making friends, having fun, sharing ideas, developing action plans and identifying resources.
The workshop consisted of a series of exercises designed to build on previous knowledge and experiences, short inputs on specific skills and practical application of steps in developing an advocacy strategy.
AGENDA, a feminist media organisation, presented a session on working with the media including how to write a press release.
IDASA, The Institute for Democracy in South Africa, is an independent non-profit public interest organisation that promotes democracy in South Africa. IDASAs mission is to promote a sustainable democracy by building democratic institutions, educating citizens and advocating for social justice. Nonhlanhla Ndlovu from IDASA provided an overview of how government, parliament and budgeting works.
Exercise: Setting scene - quiz
This exercise was designed to check knowledge on a range of sexual and reproductive rights issues at a global level especially issues affecting young women and girls. Issues included:
Early marriage
Termination of pregnancy
Maternal mortality and access to safe motherhood
Contraception
After the quiz a lengthy discussion was held around contraceptive and womens rights to choose. This was initiated by a participant from Namibia who noted that the government wanted to phase out injectable contraceptives in an effort to get more people to use condoms which are effective in preventing pregnancy, HIV and STIs.
In Uganda contraceptives are also discouraged and are seen as causing barren-ness
This led to an explanation of the different types of contraception including dispelling myths. The issues of womens rights to choose contraceptive methods was debated. Whilst the motive to discourage other forms of contraceptives may be a good one it was felt by the group that this was not the right way to encourage people to use condoms. Misinformation about contraceptives caused many problems and there was a need for proper information. For example, declining fertility rates can not be attributed to contraceptives causing barrenness but are a proven fact of HIV infection. In Malawi, the increase in tumours in womens reproductive organs in the last 5 years is being attributed to the use of contraceptives but could be due to many other reasons including HIV infection in women.
It was agreed that women do have the right to choose and that you need to be happy with what people are doing to your body.
There is a need to look at HIV in context of sexual and reproductive health issues
Including fertility, oral contraceptives and ARV and potential drug interaction, the link between HIV, STIs and cervical cancer, the need for regular pap smears [every six months] and access to effective treatment if results are abnormal.
Exercise: Identifying the issues from the voices that are not here
Whilst the group was diverse, it could not represent the voices of all young women and it was important for group members to think about the realities and needs of other young women living with HIV and AIDS:
Women from marginalized communities - rural women, sex workers, IDU, lesbian and bisexual women, trafficked women
Adolescent girls: living with HIV/AIDS [under 18 years]
Exercise: Personal journeys
Participants had been sent a pre-workshop task but some had not been able to complete it due to time constraints. The first part of the task focused on personal journeys and participants were asked to make a drawing of their life identifying the significant high and low points. These drawings were displayed and a plenary discussion on how the exercise affected participants followed.
Participants found the exercise soul searching and taxing. The exercise and subsequent discussion was very emotional - bringing back sad memories.
Finding out about a positive HIV result was seen as a low point but also had a constructive effect on peoples lives.
I am thankful that I tested positive because I went through a rough time and now I feel like I am a champion and I know what I want from life
If I could take HIV out of my body would I? The answer is no I would never have got what I got out of life if I wasnt positive
It was much easier for people to focus on the low points I had so much pain and was very angry.
The workshop environment allowed women the safe space to reflect on their lives. As one women noted: If I did it at home I wouldnt have been able to talk in this way
Womens role as carer means that we are always focusing on other people and never on ourselves. We havent allowed ourselves to think about our own lives and see ourselves and our experiences as important. As young women there is a need to assert our right to be able to do that instead of giving, giving and giving.
Exercises: Gendering our response
The difference between sex and gender was highlighted using a participatory exercise. The group then focused on why, in the context of HIV and AIDS we should focus on women? Often we face battles if we do not include men in all projects and programmes. A gendered approach can be working with women alone, men alone and women and men together.
Women have fewer rights and are not supported in accessing their rights. Some example raised:
lobola
polygamy
sexual double standard /sexual rights
wife inheritance
cultural practices
female genital mutilation
religion
sex preference / infantacide
dry sex mens sexual pleasure at whatever cost to women
Why women are vulnerable:
economic [sex work, transactional sex exchange for goods, trafficking, debt bondage]
biological
cultural and traditional practices [lobola, dry sex, arranged marriages deepening womens poverty dis-inheritance both fuels and deepens the impact]
womens care roles
violence against women / gender based violence or fear of violence
This raised different issues. Can women say no to traditional and cultural practices?
Not all culture is bad - some aspects of African culture are protective but culture is always coloured by patriarchy.
The group acknowledged men are also vulnerable but we have to be precise about womens vulnerability and understand different realities.
Practical needs and strategic interests
A brief input highlighted the difference between womens practical needs and strategic interests. Participants carried out a group task in which they practiced identifying practical needs and strategic interests. In the plenary discussion participants identified the type of work their organisations were doing. Most organisations focus on meeting womens practical needs responding to the HIV and AIDS crisis facing women. Participants discussed the importance of addressing practical needs but that it was critical also to tackle womens strategic interests if womens lives were to improve in the long term. This would be best achieved through our advocacy strategies that could challenge the position of women and the unequal power relations between men and women.
Exercises: Advocacy
A brief input into what is advocacy and what is policy was given. This was followed by a practical, step by step approach to designing an advocacy strategy in which three groups worked on a particular issue to develop the outline of the strategy. This included:
Identifying and defining the issue
Identifying the goal
Identifying the objectives
Developing messages for the primary target group.
The three critical areas were identified through a long process of firstly identifying all the issues facing young women living with HIV and AIDS [see appendix 2]. These were then grouped into themes and the three most critical themes selected.
The advocacy strategies are presented in Section three of this report.
Capacity building:
Two areas were identified as critical to successful advocacy. Session one focused on working with the media and was facilitated by AGENDA. Session two highlighted how government and parliament works and how budgets are developed.
Time was an issue throughout the workshop especially in reaching the goal of developing an advocacy strategy. There was a greater need for information and knowledge that the facilitators had not anticipated and discussions went way over allocated times. It was decided to allow discussions and to cut out some of the steps of the advocacy process to better meet the immediate needs of the participants. Give that this workshop was the first step in a longer process the facilitators felt that the advocacy strategies could be developed over time.
Section Three: Outcomes
Based on the extensive list of issues identified [appendix 1 and 2] a number of themes were listed. From these themes the group identified three critical advocacy issues for young women living with HIV and AIDS:
Issue One:
There is a lack of meaningful and active participation of young women living with HIV/AIDS in developing, implementing, and evaluating policies and programmes at the leadership and management levels, locally, nationally and internationally.
Issue Two:
Young women living with HIV and AIDS are unable to access appropriate treatment including treatment for managing opportunistic infections, ARVs and prophylaxis.
Issue Three:
Young women living with HIV and AIDS are unable to access their sexual and reproductive rights at a personal, programmatic and societal level.
Advocacy strategies were developed for each of the three issues. Groups worked on goals, and analysis of the problem, objectives and messages. Each groups work is captured below.
The Advocacy Strategies
Issue One:
There is a lack of meaningful and active participation of young women living with HIV/AIDS in developing, implementing, and evaluating policies and programmes at the leadership and management levels, locally, nationally and internationally.
Goal:
There is meaningful and active participation of young women living with HIV/AIDS in developing, implementing, and evaluating policies and programmes at the leadership and management levels, locally, nationally and internationally.
Analysis:
The Greater Involvement of People living with HIV/AIDS [GIPA] provides a starting point but in reality involvement is not enough: participation means a more active contribution as outlined in the goal. GIPA also does not specifically acknowledge the role of women, and even less so the role of young women. GIPA has become a buzz word or rhetoric for many organisations at an international, national and local level.
At present young women are less empowered and more disadvantaged. To achieve the goal, young women living with HIV and AIDS have to be empowered in order to ensure that their voices are heard and that they are seen as an integral part of any solution.
Culturally young women are not allowed to voice their opinions if they do they are disowned by their families. Communities and governments do not support womens initiatives. At a national and regional level young women are not represented.
This situation serves the interests of governments, communities and traditional leaders and faith based organisations who do not want to hear the issues and concerns of young women living with HIV and AIDS.
The voicelessness of women in general and young women in particular occurs in all sectors of the society in the home, hospitals and all health care facilities, workplace, religious organisations and institutions, communities and government. It is also evident within AIDS organisations and civil society groups.
Young women living with HIV and AIDS that are most effected include those with strong religious beliefs, women in heterosexual relationships, trafficked women, orphans, street children, prisoners, lesbians, sex workers, urban and rural women and bisexuals. Young women living with HIV and HIV need to address their practical needs and strategic interests but have not done so because they are not organised.
Whats being done?
Namibia:
Young women living with HIV and AIDS serve on various boards and are involved in developing National Strategies
Zimbabwe:
The government does not support young women at all
Malawi:
Policies and strategies exist on paper but have not yet been implemented
Lesotho:
The voices of young women living with HIV and AIDS are not heard but the environment is not hostile
South Africa:
There is a strong youth movement dominated by men who have not taken up the issue of AIDS. Youth exist in government but are not very effective. There are vibrant AIDS civil society groups but they have not taken up young womens issues strongly
In general, young women living with HIV and AIDS are not organised and do not have the skills to address their issues. Networking is not happening space needs to be provided for young women. Organisations will not put issues of young women living with HIV and AIDS on the agenda without young women pushing them to do so.
Young women living with HIV and AIDS must be organised and share a common vision. They must demand that government and community leaders provide a space for their voices and issues.
Objectives:
By end of 2004 young womens issues will be a priority for ICW.
By end of 2005, young women with HIV/AIDS should have been trained in developing, implementing and evaluating policy and programmes and given leadership and management skills.
By end 2005, young women are occupying positions in key international, national and local structures including ASOs, national youth structures, national umbrella bodies, ICW and GNP+
Message:
In Namibia no women living with HIV and AIDS are currently on the National Youth Council Structure. We would like 30% of the structure to comprise young women living with HIV and AIDS. This must happen to promote and ensure active and meaningful participation of young women living with HIV and AIDS so that their issues and concerns are heard and addressed.
In Namibia NAMCOC has a young women living with HIV and AIDS on their board who has helped to discuss, design and implement policies that are specific to the needs of young women living with HIV and AIDS, making the interventions and programmes more relevant to young women living with HIV and AIDS.
Issue Two
Young women living with HIV and AIDS are unable to access appropriate treatment including treatment for managing opportunistic infections, ARVs and prophylaxis.
Goal
There is access to appropriate treatment for young women living with HIV and AIDS This should include:
health monitoring and access to appropriate tests
treatment for opportunistic infections,
ARVs and newly developed and appropriately researched treatments
prophylaxic treatments
Analysis
In general, governments and the international community have not allocated sufficient resources to ensuring access to appropriate treatments for people living with HIV and AIDS. Limited resources affects women, and especially young women even more.
In many countries access to basic health care is not even guaranteed and people are dying unnecessarily. There are too few clinics, too few or no basic drugs and the attitude of health care staff towards women living with HIV and AIDS is traumatic. Women are not treated with dignity and their choices are not respected.
More needs to be known about the differences between women and men living with HIV and AIDS as there is little research focusing on the treatment needs of women.
Whilst .policies exist they are not always implemented. Policies often do not take gender differences and the realities of young women living with HIV and AIDS into account
Generally there is a lack of commitment and whilst treatment activists have achieved progress a lot more needs to be done. We need proper allocations of funds and building of networks and partnerships.
Objectives
Make treatment of opportunistic infections available to young women living with HIV/AIDS through all primary health care centres by March 2005. This should include flucanozol and isoclovire.
Expand PEP sites at all PHC sites by end of September 2004.
Making ARVs and treatment available and affordable and accessible in all countries, where they are not available, by December 2005.
All young women to have access to an annual pap smear and appropriate treatment if necessary by March 2005.
Message
We call on the Ministers of Health, South African National AIDS Council and the South African Medical Board to make accessible treatment for opportunistic infections at all primary health centres so that there will be a reduction in the mortality rate of young women living with HIV and AIDS
600 people are dying due to opportunistic infections. Reductions in deaths have been seen in countries like Uganda where access to treatment has been improved.
Issue Three
Young women living with HIV and AIDS are unable to access their sexual and reproductive rights at a personal, programmatic and societal level
Goal
All young women living with HIV/AIDS have access to sexual and reproductive rights (SRR) and are supported in exercising these rights. These include:
termination of pregnancies
sexuality education in and out of schools
right to reproduce and have children including safe conception, safe pregnancy and safe outcomes of pregnancy
right to protected sex
the right to sexual pleasure
to choose sexual partners.
Analysis
There is a lack of information on sexual and reproductive health and women do not know their rights. Young women living with HIV and AIDS have specific reproductive and sexual rights issues. Many women living with HIV and AIDS experience a violation of their rights from sexual partners and health providers.
There is a lack of access to free sexual and reproductive services for example, prevention of mother to child transmission. In most countries the termination of pregnancies is not legal. Policies that exist do not acknowledge womens reproductive and sexual rights. Governments do not implement strategies to increase womens reproductive and sexual health for example, expanded distribution of female condoms.
There is widespread ignorance about womens sexual and reproductive rights and cultural practices reinforce womens unequal status. There are negative attitudes to womens sexuality. Socialisation reinforces the beliefs about men and womens sexuality. Young women find it particularly difficult to access their reproductive and sexual rights.
Whilst some governments have started addressing life-skills in schools which include addressing sexuality, in some cases teachers have not been trained adequately and are unable to deal with sexual and reproductive issues. Young women out of school have been ignored.
Government should set up policies and programmes to respond to the sexual and reproductive needs of young women living with HIV and AIDS. Young women should be involved in the planning and implementation of policies. Programmes should involve and train all who are in a position to provide guidance to young women living with HIV and AIDS.
Objectives
Ensure information on sexual and reproductive rights and needs are incorporated into existing curriculum for primary and high schools by April 2005
To provide education on sexual and reproductive rights and needs for young women living with HIV/AIDS out of school by March 2005
Policies formulated by governments to address the sexual and reproductive rights of young women living with HIV/AIDS in Eastern and Southern Africa by August 2005.
Message
We call on the Ministry of Education to incorporate sexual and reproductive health and rights education for girls and young women into the existing curriculum for primary and high schools. This will ensure girls and young women have access to appropriate information on sexual and reproductive health which will help them make the right decisions in their sexual lives. Some of these decisions include contraception and termination of unwanted pregnancies.
In countries, for example the Netherlands, when such policies were adopted, it led to a reduction of unwanted pregnancies in school girls, a reduction in school drop outs and a reduction in STIs including HIV and AIDS.
Section Four: Way Forward
Each country met to discuss their future plans for action based on the dialogue, to identify support needed to fulfil their plans and capacity building needs.
CountryPlansSupport neededCapacity BuildingKenyaHold a workshop follow up to share what has been discussed
Network with other countries not represented
Learn from other countries
Get orgs to take into account the issues of womenFinancial support
Technical support from sexual and reproductive health organisations
Mobilisation skills
Training in reproductive and sexual health rights
Advocacy skills
Fundraising
LesothoReport to organisation and UNAIDS
Organise meeting of young women
Find out about existing policies
Host a group Forum to share information on: treatment, young womens involvement, Identify available resourcesDo homework identify what is there and what I need
Identify specific resources focusing on gender and AIDS
MalawiCompile report, briefing meeting management and support group
Give to MNWLHA
More involvement of young women in GIPA programme meaningful and active
Research young women in Malawi - why not involved, what issues faced
Networking within country and as a group
Gender empowermentTechnical support through email assist how to do things
Financial supportProject management
Fundraising
Communication and public speaking
NamibiaReport back to the organisation and mainstream young women living with HIV and AIDS
Sexual health and gender desk revised to best meet needs
Network with other orgs re young womenFinancialProposal writing
Presentation skills
Fundraising
Project management and admin skills
Train the Trainer
South AfricaNetworking and sharing
Workshops: skills development and gender empowerment
Holding meetings
Research
What are other organisations doingSkill dev
Fund-raising skills
Materials
Resources
Train the Trainer
Skills in facilitation, Fundraising,
Gender empowermentSwazilandReport back
Mobilise org re motivating govt to implement policies
Focus on womens lives
Act as influencer to government
Gender empowerment workshopsWork with networks
Research
Mobilising and advocacy skills
Fundraising skills
UgandaBrief and update young women
To update donor get more funds
Build and unite to strengthen goals and objectives [as org in Uganda]
Work with others
Wider scope of knowledge - globalDonor support
Accessible treatment
Proposal and work plan skills
How to run income generation activities
TTT
Mobilisation of resources
ZimbabweSo much power sitting in the room
Tackle sex education in schools
Relay on to youth
Get in touch with other woman
Network as a groupEmail those who have more info
How government work can get the info self
Four assignments were given to the participants:
Task one
Write a press release on the workshop
Action try and get it placed somewhere press, radio,
Deadline 28/04/04
Task two
Develop a list of organisations in your country that support the issues you identify
Name, contact details, what area do they cover
Email list by 15/05/04
Task three
Develop a fact sheet on policy and statistics related to your campaign topic.
1-2 page document that outlines what is going on
End May
Task four
Do a gender analysis of your organisation:
How does your organisation address young womens practical needs.
How does your organisation address the strategic interests of young women living with HIV and AIDS.
Deadline: By 3/05/04
No responses have been received to date
Section Five: Evaluation
The general evaluation was very positive. The following quotes reflect the learnings from and feelings about the dialogue process:
I know why people discriminate against people living with HIV and AIDS because we discriminate against other marginalised groups
As a young women living with HIV and AIDS I need to understand my rights and to use this to help others
I am confident to claim my identity my identity as a young women living with HIV and AIDS
This workshop empowered me to deal with my fears I know if I dont others will suffer in silence
Great that the workshop was just for young women living with HIV and AIDS
We will not get things on a silver platter sometimes we must demand what we want
I am an advocate in my own right
There is so much power in this room
Everyone was taken seriously
I have an identity beyond story telling
We have a voice and we must use our voice
Even if I regard myself as small I can still challenge and fight for the rights of young women living with HIV and AIDS
Appendix 1:
List of issues identified facing young women living with HIV and AIDS prior to the workshop.
The issues raised by prospective participants as critical concerns for young women living with HIV were many and varied. They have been grouped below.
DENIAL OF RIGHTS:-Sexual and reproductive rights
Basic rights
Rights to treatment
Right to schooling and further education
SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
Women do not know their sexual and reproductive rights
Lack of access to termination of pregnancy
Lack of control of sex / power to negotiate safer sex
Lack of access to women initiated [female condom] and women controlled [microbicides] prevention methods
Female genital mutilation
Lack of access to contraceptives
Need for youth [including young women] friendly services
Safe child bearing
Pressures intergenerational sex and transactional sex
CULTURAL AND RELIGIOUS BELIEFS
Widow inheritance
Views about women as inferior
Lack of property ownership
Early marriage
Favouring males
ACCESS
Young women lack access to:
Information and education about HIV and AIDS
Treatment from ARVs to opportunistic infections
Support
Care they are providers not receivers
Adequate nutrition
ISSUES WOMEN FACE
Domestic violence
Rape [including marital rape and date rape]
Poverty
Negative and severe consequences of disclosure
Expectations that women will disclose
Stigma and discrimination
POWER
Young women are not empowered
Young women living with HIV and AIDS are not in positions of influence and power
Young women are afraid and do not fight for their lives
Young women need to be economically empowered
Appendix 2:
List of issues identified facing young women living with HIV and AIDS during the workshop.
Lack of empowerment
Risk of producing HIV positive babies
Reproductive rights
Death
Loss of education
Stigma and discrimination
No mentoring and guidance
Sickness
Access to health care facilities
Young womens involvement in decision-making
Isolation
Having no friends
Education
Health care facilities
Advocate for others that can not advocate for themselves
Stigma and discrimination
Inadequate information
Access to treatment
Access to clean water
Solidarity from older women
Womens organisations are ignoring the call
Access to childrens rights
Young womens issues must be addressed
Availability of toilets for all
Jobs and food security
Condoms
Treatment for young women (all forms)
Education
Access to jobs
Treatment and health services
Prevention of mother to child transmission and voluntary counselling and testing
Ineffective programmes
Reinfection
ABC campaigns not flexible
Access to bursaries
How to have a baby without infecting
Access to health rights (not prioritised if you have HIV)
Unplanned pregnancy
Stigma
GBV
Poverty
Rape
Prop grabbing
Sex and sexuality and FP
Access to treatment
Treatment preparedness and literacy
Abuse
Treatment care and support
Health facilities
Access to fun
Treatment
Capacity to implement support group activities
Lack of decision-making
SRH rights and support in accessing
Lack of funds
Treatment
Free SRH services and info
Well informed
Access to condoms
Strengthen capacity
Education
Access to treatment
ARV
HIV vaccines
Microbicdes
Voices of young women living with HIV
Young women not considered
Vulnerability to HIV
Not allowed in high paying jobs
Treatment
Isolation and abuse
Reinfection
Education on HIV and ARVS
Education about our bodies
Lifeskills
Jobs
Property after partners death
Treatment
Education
Assisted conception
Undoing the abuse (eg sterilisation in early days)
SRR
Lack of partners
Appendix 3: Provisional programme
PROGRAMME
Monday April 19th
09:00 09:15 Opening and Welcome
09:15 10:30 Introductions
10:30 11:15 Overview and Objectives
11:15 11:30 TEA BREAK
11:30 13:00 Defining the Context: Quiz
13:00 14:00 LUNCH
14:00 - 15:30 Focusing on the Realities
15:30 16:00 TEA BREAK
16:00 17:00 Why focus on Women?
17:00 17:15 Reflection / Closing
Evening
Welcome dinner with invited guests at Quarters Hotel
Tuesday April 20th
09:00 09:15 Review/ Housekeeping
09:15 11:15 Defining our Issues
11:15 11:30 TEA BREAK
11:30 13:00 Analysing our Issues
13:00 14:00 LUNCH
14:00 - 15:30 Intro to Policy & Advocacy
15:30 16:00 TEA BREAK
16:00 17:00 Policy & Advocacy Continued
17:00 17:15 Reflection/ Closing
Evening
Free
Wednesday April 21st
09:00 09:15 Review/ Housekeeping
09:15 11:15 Defining goals and objectives of an advocacy campaign
11:15 11:30 TEA BREAK
11:30 13:00 Defining goals and objectives of an advocacy campaign
13:00 14:00 LUNCH
14:00 15:30 Defining your target audience
15:30 16:00 TEA BREAK
16:00 17:00 Message Development
17:00 17:15 Reflection/ Closing
Evening
Walk / shopping on beach front
Thursday April 22nd
09:00 09:15 Review/ Housekeeping
09:15 11:15 Policy Resource Person (IDASA)
How parliament makes a law
How a policy is developed
How civil society can influence parliament process
11:15 11:30 TEA BREAK
11:30 13:00 Media Resource Person (AGENDA)
13:00 14:00 LUNCH
14:00 15:30 Policy Resource Person (IDASA)
The budget
15:30 16:00 TEA BREAK
16:00 17:00 Refining messages
17:00 17:15 Reflection/ Closing
Evening
Free
Friday April 23rd
09:00 09:15 Review/ Housekeeping
09:15 10:15 Working in a Coalition
10:15 11:15 Identifying capacity/skills needs
11:15 11:30 TEA BREAK
11:30 12:00 Campaign Selection
12:00 13:00 Closing Session
13:00 14:00 LUNCH
Afternoon and evening
Shopping / entertainment at GATEWAY Mall
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