Attitudes to safe sex from Swaziland to Swansea

Claire Holland discusses attitudes to safe sex in Swaziland, and looks at what can be done to slow down the spread of STIs and HIV.

''Swaziland has the highest percentage of people with HIV or AIDS - 38.6 per cent.'' ''They suggested that many of their peers were aware of safe sex, but that they often ignored the advice given to them, or did not believe it.'' ''Many people see HIV and AIDS as an African problem, but if we can’t change our own attitudes, we may find ourselves in a similar situation.''

The issues of safe sex, STIs and HIV/AIDS have become hot topics again within the media, and amongst politicians. However, for some people this issue is rarely off their minds, and the consequences affect them every single day.

Amongst these people are the teenagers I visited two years ago during a college trip to Swaziland. During the trip we went to the international school in Mbabane, the capital, and spoke to several of the students about their attitudes to HIV, AIDS and safe sex.

Swaziland is a country that has been hugely affected by the HIV epidemic that has swept across sub-Saharan Africa in the last 25 years. According to the statistics, Swaziland has the highest percentage of people with HIV or AIDS - 38.6 per cent. It also has the lowest life expectancy - just 32.6 years.

The common perception is that people in Africa get HIV due to their promiscuous society, but this is a hugely simplified version of events. It is a vast mixture of issues that create vicious cycles of transmission. For example - quite rightly, lack of education is often blamed for the spread of HIV - but it is also HIV that often stops children gaining an education. If a member of a family dies from HIV then the children in that family are unlikely to attend school because they have to help a home. The children are therefore unlikely to gain an education about safe sex.

We spoke to several students - not all from Swaziland, but from surrounding countries. They had an interesting mix of traditional values and western ideals. Whilst fully aware of the problems facing their own communities, they were also able to take a more objective view of the situation. All of them were very aware of safe sex and how HIV is contracted. They also suggested that many of their peers were aware of this, but that they often ignored the advice given to them, or did not believe it.

Unfortunately all of this sounds very familiar. You would be hard pushed to find a teenager in my hometown of Swansea who had absolutely no idea about safe sex, but unfortunately it would not be so hard to find one who ignored it, and still had unprotected sex with multiple partners.

Many people see HIV and AIDS as an African problem, but if we can’t change our own attitudes, we may find ourselves in a similar situation. Luckily for us we will have the access to anti-retroviral drugs, unlike the millions of African sufferers who so desperately need them now.