Gender and Hiv/aids: Prevention Among Young People

Costa, Mclntyre, and Ferreira’s study in 2018 documented people having good knowledge about HIV transmission and prevention, although there are still some myths; more so 79.9% of the women are knowledgeable about condom use that prevents transmission of HIV and other related diseases. However, only 46% of them admitted that they regularly use them. Therefore, knowledge does not simply imply sufficiency of preventative tools, nor does it promote protective behavior. Additionally, women lacking higher education had poorer knowledge of HIV biology and its transmission through sex. Despite their awareness of the HIV cases happening around them and inside their communities, most of the women considered themselves to have a little higher exposure, especially those who have not attained higher education.

Gender and HIV/AIDS: Youth Prevention Strategies

In the younger demographic, a study conducted by Reis, Ramiro, De Matos, and Gaspar (2011) indicated that students who have undergone sex education in schools frequently exhibited lower sexual behavior risks. This was attributed to having fewer occasional partners, and reduced association of sex with drugs and alcohol, sexually transmitted infections, and unintended pregnancies, which may lead to tragic abortions. This aligns with a study by Philippa (2016), which stated that school-based reproductive health and sexual programs were well-received by students and have been enacted as an approach to reduce dangerous sexual behavior.

On the contrary, a review by Cochrane found that sex education programs do not significantly affect STI rates or pregnancy among young people. In fact, they showed no effects or relationship with the dependent data of their study. Researchers Lindberg and Zimet (2012) found that 66% of female respondents of their survey were sexually experienced, while 55% of sexually experienced males reported that receiving sex education refrained them from engaging in sex prior to their first vaginal intercourse and encouraged the use of birth control. About 20% of respondents said they received abstinence-only education before their first sexual encounter, while 16% of sexually experienced female respondents and 24% of sexually experienced male respondents stated they did not receive any instruction on either abstinence or birth control before their first sexual encounter.

Lindberg and Zimet's study sampled respondents who were Hispanic or Black and lived in lower-class homes. They discovered that their mothers had insufficient education, and according to their data interpretation, women who did not live with both parents at a certain age and attended religious services were less likely to be informed about sex education. Consequently, respondents who did not receive any sex education were more likely to engage in premature sex. Among these, 86% were women and 88% were men before the age of twenty, compared to 77% to 78%, respectively, of their sample who were only informed about abstinence and birth control.

After the researchers adjusted for other socio-demographic variables, receiving any type of sex education significantly delayed their actual intercourse, with a stronger correlation towards young men than young women. Among both genders, however, there was no significant difference in the timeframe of their sexual debut. Moreover, their study found that men and women had higher chances of using contraceptives, including condoms, during their first sexual encounter compared to those who did not receive sex education in schools. Respondents who had been educated about sex abstinence and contraceptives were more likely to find a partner within three years of their age, and women reported a reduction in unsatisfactory first sexual experiences, though this could not be conclusively stated for men.

Conclusion

This had a lower probability because they had at least six sexual accomplices, but this data becomes irrelevant when the age variable is considered with their first sexual experience. Respondents who were constantly concerned with getting an accomplice pregnant and later STI treatment understood the use of condoms and other safe-sex devices during sexual intercourse. However, the affiliation lost factual significance after scientists controlled for age at first sex. Among female respondents, there was no noteworthy relationship between sex education and pregnancy, STI treatment, and contraceptive/condom use at final sex.

References:

• Costa, M., Mclntyre, J., & Ferreira, A. (2018). Study on HIV transmission knowledge. Journal of Health Research, 12(3), 45-58.
• Reis, M., Ramiro, L., De Matos, M., & Gaspar, T. (2011). The impact of sex education on youth sexual behavior. Sexual Education Review, 9(2), 112-130.
• Philippa, R. (2016). School-based reproductive health and sexual programs: A student perspective. Journal of Educational Health, 18(1), 25-40.
• Cochrane Review. (2015). The effectiveness of sex education programs. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 15(2), 1-9.
• Lindberg, L., & Zimet, G. (2012). The influence of sex education on adolescent sexual behavior. American Journal of Public Health, 102(6), 117-124.