Why HIV/AIDS prevention strategies fail in Botswana: considering discourses of sexuality

Abstract

A phenomenological study that was carried out among five ethnic groups of Botswana revealed the importance of taking into account culturally situated sexual realities when prevention policies for HIV/AIDS are considered and implemented. Furthermore the study threw light on the ineffectiveness of the current national HIV/AIDS prevention strategy of ‘Abstain, Be faithful, or use a Condom’ (ABC), a strategy that has been externally imposed on communities, without sufficiently engaging the behavioural practices and values of the communities themselves. This paper therefore advocates educational strategies for HIV/AIDS prevention that take into consideration localised social relations and value systems. Devising policies that engage with the discourses that are dominant in each ethnic group can make a difference in a country that has been hard-hit by the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Peggy Gabo Ntseane

Peggy Gabo Ntseane, Department of Adult Education, University of Botswana, Private Bag 0022, Gaborone, Botswana, Southern Africa.

Julia Preece

Julia Preece, Department of Adult and Continuing Education, University of Glasgow, 11 Eldon Street, Glasgow G3 6NH, UK.