Creating a different international HIV response for young people

Abstract

This paper demonstrates that certain notions of young people in the HIV and AIDS response reveal an overly generalised understanding of ‘youth’ that does not reflect a realistic view of young people's identity and lives. Faulty stereotypes of ‘youth’ – such as the perceptions that young people are necessarily victims or risk-takers – result in many HIV programmes based on generalisations about young people, rather than their actual needs and realities. These stereotypes and generalisations dominate million dollar prevention programmes that have little effect on HIV incidence rates amongst young people. To create a different future for young people and achieve real and lasting change, this paper recommends three discrete but interrelated actions for the international HIV community to undertake now; to base programmes on definitions of young people that emerge from the setting in which the programme will be implemented; to ensure HIV prevention programming is targeted at specific groups of young people, rather than a ‘one-size-fits-all’ package; and to incorporate structural approaches into AIDS programming to address the underlying factors that make younger age groups more vulnerable to HIV – including age-related stigma, discrimination and human rights abuses.

Keywords:

• young people
• human rights
• HIV
• stigma
• discrimination

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Jessica Ogden for her superb editing skills; the members of the aids2031 Social Drivers Working Group for providing feedback and support, including Bill Fisher, Ellen Foley, Imane Khachani, Rob Goble, Anne Hendrixson, Jeff O’ Malley, Rachel Ong, Ann Warner; many young activists who informed the writing of this paper, including Vidar Ekehaug, Allen Kwabena-Frimpong, Adam Garner, Rachel Jacobson, Himakshi Piplani, Will Rockwell and others; and a very special thank you to Geeta Rao Gupta for encouraging the writing of this paper in the first place.

Notes

1. See http://www.unfpa.org/hiv/people.htm

2. ‘Where they're at’ is a common saying in the HIV harm reduction field and has been increasingly used by young people working on HIV to refer to an approach that gives young people the information and services they need, but does not try to judge or moralise their behaviour. For instance, according to Youth RISE's Campaign for AIDS2010, ‘Harm reduction is an active and interactive process. It's not a passive strategy that is ‘done to’ participants. It meets the person using drugs where they're at and provides them with safe alternatives’. Thank you to Allen Kwabena-Frimpong for introducing me to this phrase.

3. See http://www.unicef.org/adolescence/index_bigpicture.html

4. See www.aids-freeworld.org/content/view/147/135

5. The programme's youth centres are ‘youth-only’ spaces where young people can play ball or get online, and where they have healthy living seminars by peer educators. Interestingly, some research shows that young people do not need separate centres or health services, but rather revisions to existing clinics and centres that train staff to be non-discriminatory and have night and weekend hours (See ‘What is youth friendly’ by Erulkar et al. (2005).

6. See www.youthrise.org

7. Disclosure: I am the current Director of the HIV Young Leaders Fund, a project of Tides Center.

8. See http://www.ihra.net/contents/349