Topic: Sexual HealthSexual education
Adolescence is a time of risk taking. Constructive risk taking aids the developmental task
of becoming a mature, confident adult with a sense of mastery of self and the world. However,
ill judged and misinformed risk taking in sexual behaviour can have serious and life long consequences.
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Making Space for Safer Sex
There is much concern about the second wave of HIV infections among gay male youth.
Yet qualitative research showing how to produce effective HIV prevention programs for this population
are scarce. Traditional models for education are not sufficient.
This study uses ethnographic data to
illustrate a community empowerment HIV prevention project found to significantly reduce rates of unprotected
anal sex among young gay males between the ages of 18 and 29. It seeks to show how safer sex norms among
gay youth are produced. Analyses of these data reveal that a sense of ownership in a youth space is a
critical component of this model. This research should facilitate AIDS educators in their efforts to
end the second wave of infections among gay youth by providing a detailed map of how a successful HIV
prevention project operates and by stressing the need to make spaces for safer sex education.
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