Gender Equality, HIV and AIDS: A Challenge for the Education Sector

This book, as described by its publisher, Oxfam Great Britain (GB), is assembled from 11 studies to show that while gender inequalities in society generally, and particularly within the education sector, are driving aspects of the HIV epidemic, educational settings can be locations of empowerment to bring about change. The book examines different expectations of what HIV education programmes and education settings can do to transform unequal gender relations and protect young people against HIV and AIDS and contribute to care for those affected and infected. It demonstrates that, to be effective, HIV and AIDS education must be based on a sensitive understanding of social and cultural context and the complexities of young people’s lives.

The book is written to illustrate the importance of democratic learning environments informed by evidence-based policy. Such policies can, as indicated in the book, be created through strong leadership for transforming deeply held values and beliefs regarding sexual behaviour and sexuality. It includes examples from Uganda, South Africa, Zambia, Thailand, India, and Nigeria. As stated by the authors, "[t]here is an urgent need for fine-grained studies of what good teaching and learning about HIV and AIDS looks like in classrooms and schools. Research in schools in Durban and Gauteng in South Africa, in Maputo, Mozambique, and in Uganda shows how teachers’ attitudes sometimes undermine the equality and respect which are needed to support forms of empowerment of both girls and boys in relation to negotiating sex .... Nonetheless a number of initiatives also point to the ways in which teachers are contributing to change, as this book documents.... There is a growing need for the insights gained from these local initiatives to be used in policy making and planning at national and international levels."

In the conclusions section, the authors draw recommendations from the studies, including the following:

• Effective HIV and AIDS education, as stated here, must be "based on an understanding of the broader social and cultural environment in which gender differentiation and hierarchies, power in sexual relationships, and the effects of stigma and discrimination operate. It must address the complexities of young people’s lives, taking on board shifting forms of the family, and large numbers of children orphaned by the disease …. It requires developing an in-depth understanding of how the school, the teachers, and the students are located in this wider context, and what this means in terms of their vulnerability and risk to HIV, as well as opportunities for change. Education for behaviour change in the context of HIV and AIDS means challenging deeply held values and religious beliefs and practices regarding women’s sexuality and sexual behaviour.... Through participatory and inclusive approaches to programme design and collaborative decision-making, adult education and school-focused programmes can engender ownership across the community…. [For example,] Chewa elders in eastern Zambia, whose instruction at puberty put boys and girls at risk of HIV, themselves became active proponents of new ways of teaching..."
  
• The document cites perspectives of South African educators on the development of new caring relationships between teachers and students which makes way for new visions of masculinity and femininity. "The extent to which teachers are able to recognise and change their own normalised gendered identities and behaviours is important for the way in which they teach and model safe behaviour....This kind of change is not instant, and needs ongoing support as teachers and facilitators themselves challenge their own beliefs and behaviours and bring their own learning and understanding to support their students. Peer groups, not only for students but for teachers too, are important for providing mutual support and mentoring.... Teacher training, both pre-service and in-service, must engage with issues of gender equality, HIV, and interactive, facilitative teaching and learning styles. The authoritarian culture that still dominates schools in much of the world needs to be transformed, and standards and codes of professional and ethical conduct implemented."
  
• The book describes education programmes that have been developed outside of the formal education system and operate on the margins of the official curriculum and practice. Because those that are HIV and AIDS programmes often develop in a piecemeal fashion with small-scale donor-funded programmes, space was created for the development of innovative programmes that have flourished through strong and effective partnerships between civil-society organisations and local and national education authorities. This partnering ensured not only ownership but also sustainability through working with existing government structures - such as parent-teacher associations, in-service training mechanisms, and the education inspectorate. The authors recommend moving the most successful of those to the formal education sector, including programmes of vocational and skills training.
• The bringing together of coalitions and NGO networks involving civil society, donors, and government from across sectors, as well as linking across government ministries, is important for good HIV education, though there may be complexity and "creative tension", according to the authors.
  
• National policy development on HIV for the education sector can be an opportunity for discussion with and engagement of civil society in the development process, demanding greater accountability from civil society, and any projects that can give the time and the resources to document their learning or share their experiences, in order to facilitate evidence-based policymaking. As stated here, policy should provide the framework needed for scaling up NGO and government collaborative programmes which have proved their effectiveness and quality through extensive monitoring and evaluation over time. A policy is also important to guide curriculum development, teacher training, and workplace HIV policies at all levels of the system. Civil-society organisations and their national coalitions can use the statements of intent in policy documents to hold government accountable for their implementation.