Part 4 of the paper:

SWAZILAND SECONDARY/HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’ RISKS THAT MAY PROMOTE HIV INFECTION AND THE SPREAD OF AIDS

by NOZIPHO EUGENIA MNDEBELE, NATIONAL CURRICULUM CENTRE

Click here for Part 3 of this paper
Click here for Part 2 of this paper
Click here for Part 1 of this paper

Q. 12 and Q. 13 From the 2258 youth interviewed, 92 (4.1%) stated that they had been raped. Those 92 respondents were asked to give the age at which they had first been raped. Only 63 were willing to give that age. The responses are shown in Table P-5 below.

Table P-5

Q. 14 The respondents were further asked where the first rape took place. 127 responded positively, although previously only 92 respondents claimed to have been raped. The actual number of respondents who had been raped may have been higher than the 92 who responded or some respondents may have marked more than one location if they had been raped more than once.

Out of the 127 who responded to the question, 33.9% claimed to have been raped at the home of either the victim or the rapist. 30.7% were raped in the bush; 14.2% in a car; 8.6% in a hotel and 7.1% did not specify the location.

Q. 15 The youth were asked about the relationship between themselves and their first rapist. Of the 2258 youth questioned, 1676 said the question did not apply to them. A further 343 did not respond. 244 responded positively to the question. (Again, this number is larger than the initial number who climbed to have been raped.) As this topic is further discussed, more and more respondents are willing to answer the questions. The results of those 244 responses are shown in Table P-6 below.

Table P-6

Q. 16 Respondents were asked the time of day at which the initial rape had occurred. 114 youth responded positively to the question. Of these, 52.6% were raped at night; 29.8% during the afternoon and 17.5% during the morning.

Q. 17 The study group was asked how many times they had committed rape in their life. 2018 youth responded to the question. 1954 stated that they had never committed rape, while 64 said that they had. 32.8% of those who had, committed rape only one time. 20.3% of them had raped twice. 17.2% had committed rape three times. 2 youth, 3.1% had raped four times and 26.6% more than four times.

Q. 18 When asked where the first rape took place, 2049 of the study group responded to the question. 129 gave the location while 1920 said the question did not apply to them. The most common place was the forest where 26.4% had been raped. Cars were the next most common place with 24%. 15.5% were raped at the rapists home and 6.2% at the victims home. 12.4% were raped at a friends home. 9.3% were raped in hotels and 6.2% listed ‘other’ as the place they were raped.

Q. 19 Again, when asked where the last rape took place, 2039 youth responded. 1930 said that the question did not apply to them. 109 (5.3%) gave the location of that rape. Again, the most common place was the forest with 23.9% of the rapes. Cars and hotels were common places with 16.5% and 9.2 respectively. 21.1% rapes occurred at the rapist’s home while 11 10.1% were at the victim’s home. 11.9% were at a friend’s home and 7.3% listed ‘other’ as the location of the last rape.

Q. 20 The respondents who had raped before were asked who they raped. 1968 youth responded to the question. 1731 of those said that the question did not apply to them. 237 (12%) listed the people who they had raped.

Far above all others were Strangers whom 60% claimed to have raped. 6.8% had raped their girlfriend. 6.2% had raped their boyfriend or their teacher. 5.5% had raped their father. 2.5% had raped their sister. 2.1% had raped a cousin and 1.7% had raped their mother or grandmother. 1.3% had raped their brother or grandfather. 0.8% had raped their aunt and 0.4% had raped their uncle. 3.4% listed ‘other’ as the person whom they had raped.

NOTE: The author does not believe the question was well understood by the respondents.

a. The majority of rapes (>74.1%) occurred with youth who were below the legal age of consent.

b. Again, as probing questions continued, more and more youth answered them.

c. Of the categories where the gender of the rapist can be assessed (incestual relationships), in 58.9% of the cases the rapist was a man while in 41.1% of the cases the rapist was a woman.

d. The majority of youth who had raped, had raped three or more times.

e. It was earlier reported (Q. 15) that the majority of rapes occur with strangers. This would account for the large number of rapes occurring in the forest and stress the dangers of accepting lifts from people who are not known to you. 21.7% were raped either at the victim or the rapists home. This would account for the many rapes which occur within the family.

f. If this data is accurate, there are more youth raping their own parents and grandparents than we had believed.

 

a. Extensive advocacy must take place to up-date the laws on rape and incest, and strengthen the enforcement of those laws.

b. A core group of youths are repeat rapists. These need to be identified and offered counselling/punishment.

c. More research should be done to assess the amount of incestual rape which is occurring in Swaziland.

 

Q. 33 The survey group was asked if they had ever received money in exchange for sex. Out of 2258 interviewees, 1929 responded . Among those who responded, 3.2% had received money for sex while 1868 had not . 390 did not respond to the question .

Q. 34 They were further asked if they had ever received gifts in exchange for sex. Out of 1932 who responded to the question, 6.2% admitted receiving gifts for sex. 1813 said they had not received gifts for sex. 326 did not respond to the question .

Q. 35 Respondents were asked to indicate whether they had given money or gifts in exchange for sex. Out of 2258, 1270 responded to the question . 4.5% indicated they had, while 95.5% said they had not .

Q. 36 From 2258 interviewees, 1267 responded to the question on giving gifts for sex. 5.7% said that they had while 94.3% had not .

Q. 37 Respondents were asked whether they had been asked for sex by those who gave them lifts. 1270 out 2258 responded to the question . From those who responded, 10.9% had been asked for sex by those who gave them a lift .

Q. 38 A further question was asked as to whether respondents had engaged in sex with those who gave them lifts. 1938 responded to the question of which 3.4% responded positively. 320 did not respond to the question .

Q. 39 Respondents were asked whether they started love affair with persons who gave them lifts. Out of 2258, 1271 responded. 4.3% of those who responded to the question had started a love affair with someone who gave them a lift.

Sex for Gain Findings

a. The youth tend to engage in sex even when there is no money or gifts to gain from the partner. There are a few who give money or gifts. Similarly, a few receive the same .

b. (Considering the findings in the earlier section of this report which indicated that youth tend to have sex mostly with their fellow youth, the fact that exchange of money or gifts is not common is understandable. These are not a group of people who have large sums of money or gifts to give.)

c. More than 10% of youth had been asked for sex for lifts, and almost a third of those have consented.

a. Educational programmes targeting youth should continue to stress the dangers of ‘sugar daddies’ and ‘sugar mommies’.

Q. 40 Respondents (2258) were asked if they had been told in the past that they had an STD. 1935 responded to the question. 2.3% indicated that they had been told that they had an STD, and 97.7% had never been told they had STD .

Q. 41 When asked if they had ever been treated for an STD, 1896 youth responded to the question. 2.9% admitted to having received treatment. 97.1% said that they had not.

Q. 42 Of those who had been infected with STDs, 20 gave the frequency of infection in the last one year. For those, 45% had been infected once, 25% twice and 30% three or more times . The other 24 who had been infected with STDs did not specify the number of times they had STDs in the last one year .

Q. 43 All the respondents (44) who said they had been infected with an STD also said they had been treated for the infection . 34 out of 44 specified who treated them . 73.5% said they were treated by a nurse/doctor, 17.6% treated themselves, 2.9% was treated by a traditional healer and 2.9% by a prophet .

STDs Findings

a. While the number of youth who stated they had been infected with STDs is low (2.3%), the rate of re-infection is quite high (55%). Those re-infections could be caused by:

a) incomplete medical treatment (17.6% said they treated themselves),

b) non-notification and treatment of their partner, or

c) a new additional partner

STDs Recommendations

a. Mass education on importance of complete medical treatment of STDs.

b. Improved case management of STD among the youth including an expanded counselling programme.

c. Expanded programme of tracing and treating of partners.

d. The possibility of piloting a Reproductive Health clinic for youth, where they could routinely go for medical check ups to know about their STD/HIV status and receive counselling should be explored.

e. The counselling skills of nurses who treat STDs should be strengthened.

f. Again, as probing questions continued, more and more youth responded to them (i.e. 44 had been told of an STD yet 55 had received treatment).

Comments

The low rate of STDs reported in this survey contradicts data from previous reports. There is some confusion over how these questions were worded. It would have been easy enough to ask, ‘Have you ever had an STD?’. This would have been simple, to-the-point and less confusing.

Q. 44 The youth interviewed (2258) were asked if they had ever had a homosexual experience. 1945 youth responded to the question . Of those 1945 responses, 2% said yes and 98% no .

Q. 45 When further asked to give the age at which their first homosexual encounter was, 42 youth gave the age . This up from 37 who admitted to the experience . The results are as follows in Table P-

Table P-7

Q. 46 When further asked about the age of their homosexual partner, 37 youth listed that age. Again, the 11 to 15 age group was on top with 37.8%. 18.9% had partners between 6 and 10 years of age. 24.3% had partners between the ages of 2 and 5. And 18.9% had partners 16 years of age and older.

Q. 47 28 respondents stated that they are currently involved in homosexual relationship. Of the 37 respondents who had tried homosexual activities, 75.7% had continued until the date of this survey.

Q. 48 When asked the age of their current homosexual partner, again 37 listed that age. But only 28 respondents had admitted to be in current homosexual relationships.

NOTE: This could be a reflection of the difficulty they have in discussing such things and the stigma which goes with homosexuality.

The most common age for current homosexual partners was 11 to 15 years with 32.4%. Following was the age group 16 to 20 years with 24.3%. Then, 18.9% for the ages of 6 to 10 years, 13.5% aged 21 years and over, and 10.8% who are aged between 2 and 5 years.

Homosexual Findings

a. Though homosexual activities are not common (2%), those who have begun homosexual relationships have remained with them (75.7%). This is not just experimentation of youth going though changes.

b. The practice of homosexual activities expands greatly at the onset of puberty. This is much the same as heterosexual activity.

c. In general, those practising homosexuality are with their own age group, but there is an alarming 24.3% who are practising with those between the ages of 2 and 5 years.

Homosexual Recommendations

a. Though we do not want to discriminate against people because of their sexual orientation, many of these relationships are beginning at a very early age. The legal implications of having homosexual relations with minors needs to be examined.

b. Homosexual youth should be encouraged to abstain from sex until a later age the same as heterosexual youth although, safe sex education should also be made available to them.

Q. 49 Respondents were asked if they had ever made anyone pregnant or been pregnant. Only 0.8% of survey group answered yes.

NOTE: This is a problem question. It could have been split into two questions: 1 for males and 1 for females.

Q. 50 Data Missing

Q. 51 Data Missing

Q. 52 The youth were asked if they or any of their girlfriends had ever had an abortion. 1926 answered the question. 3.7% said that they did know of someone or had an abortion themselves.

Q. 53 The survey group was asked if they have a medical clinic within the school premises. 1903 responded to the question. 35.3% responded "yes".

Q. 54 Those youth who did not have a clinic within the school were asked the distance to the nearest clinic. 1846 youth responded. 38.7% said there is a clinic less than 1 km; 16.7% at 1km; 8.8% at 2km; 9.3% at 3km and 28.7% more than 3 km.

Medical Facilities Findings

a. 75% of the youth surveyed have a clinic no further than 1 kilometre away from the school.

a. The ability of clinics to deal with the problems of adolescent sexuality problems should be strengthened.

Q. 55 The study group (2258) were asked if they had ever used contraceptives. 1919 youth responded to the question. 12.4% stated that they had.

Q. 56 Those who had used contraceptives were asked the type of contraceptive they had used. 243 responses were recorded. (Multiple responses are possible.) The condom was the most often used contraceptive with 76.5% of the responses. Injections and the pill followed with 11.5% and 9.9% respectively. The least common contraceptive was the IUD with 0.8% of responses.

Q. 57 When asked if they had used contraceptives in the last six months.

Q. 58 Those respondents were asked what type of contraceptives they had used in the last six months. 203 responses were recorded. (Multiple responses were possible.) Again, the condom was the most often used contraceptive with 76.4% of responses. Injections and the pill followed with 11.3% and 9.4% respectively. IUDs came last with 1.0% of responses.

Q. 59 The youth were asked how old they were when they first used contraceptives. 195 youth responded. The most frequently listed age group was 16 to 20 years of age with 52.8% of responses. 43.6% listed 11 to 15 years of age. 1.5% had used contraceptives before the age of 10 and a further 2.1% were older than 20 years at their first use of contraceptives.

Q. 60 Those who used contraceptives were asked who influenced them to use them. 209 responses were recorded (Multiple repones were possible). Boyfriends and Girlfriends were most often listed with 40.2% of responses. Mothers and Fathers were listed with 12.9% and 7.2% respectively. Health Workers were listed on 12.4% of the responses. 12% listed Teachers. Brothers and Cousins each received 4.8% responses. 3.3% listed Sisters. Grandmothers and Uncles were each listed 1% times. And Grandfathers were listed once (0.5%).

Q. 61 The youth were asked if they had ever used condoms. 1942 responded to the question. 17.3% said ‘yes’ they had used them.

Q. 62 When further asked if they had used condoms in the last six months, 220 youth responded. 9.1% said that they had not. 37.3% said that they had used them ‘sometimes’. And 53.6% said they had used them ‘always’ in the last six months.

Q. 63 In addition, the youth were asked if they had ever broken a condom during sex. 89 youth said that they had. This is 26.5% of the youth who had used condoms.

Q. 64 37 youth said that they had at one time paid for condoms. (11% of those who had used condoms.)

Q. 65 When asked if they had ever needed a condom and not been able to find one in the last year, 66 youth said ‘yes’. This is 19.6% of those who had used them.

Q. 66 The study group was asked if it is easy for them to find condoms. 1656 youth responded. 502 of those responses 30.3% said ‘yes’ it was easy, but 69.7% said that it was difficult.

Q. 67 The youth were asked where they received condoms. 678 responses were recorded (Multiple responses were possible). Far above all others were clinics and hospitals with 82.3% of responses. Chemists were listed 7.2% of the time. Rural Health Motivators received 2.8% of responses. Parents 1.8%. Siblings 1.2%.

Q. 68 The youth (2258) were asked to describe the attitude of health workers when the youth ask them for condoms. 602 youth felt the question relevant to them. 32.4% listed the Health Worker’s attitude as bad. 67.6% listed the Health Worker’s attitude as good.

NOTE: A further question could have been added dealing with HW attitudes when youth are treated for STDs.

Contraceptives Findings

a. Contraception is not practice by the majority of youth who are sexually active, although

b. 45.1% of the youth who have used contraceptives, began using them before the legal age of consent.

c. Condoms are by far the most common form of contraception for youth.

d. A significant number of youth (26.5% of users) are having problems with them breaking.

e. Condoms are not readily available for the youth.

f. One-third of the youth studied are not happy with the attitudes of Health Workers when dealing with condoms.

Contraceptives Recommendations

a. Education on the correct use of condoms should be stepped up among the youth. (Not to the exclusion of abstinence as an option.)

b. Condoms should be made more readily available.

c. Clinic staff, Career Guidance Teachers, RHMs, etc. should be educated on the importance of contraception for youth and given more emphasis in distribution programmes.

NOTE: We should bear in mind that condoms are the only form of birth control which will protect against diseases such as STDs and HIV. They are also the only form which is self administered without the help of medical personnel and there is less risk of side effects which are often associated with pills, injections or IUDs.

NOTE: Education on the proper use of condoms is vital. Evidence has shown that most condom breakage is due to misuse.

Q. 69 The survey group were asked if they had ever used drugs. 1913 responded to the question with 4.9% stating that they had.

Q. 70 When asked what types of drugs they had used (excluding alcohol) 46.8% of respondents listed dagga; 17.7% mandrax and 35.4% listed other.

NOTE: Greater emphasis could have been placed on benzene, petrol, glue and such things which are commonly inhaled.

Q. 71 Those who had used drugs were asked who influenced them to use them 84 youth responded. 83.3% were influenced to use drugs by their peers. Only 16.7% were influenced by other people.

Q. 72 When asked about the location of their drug use 87 youth listed the place (Multiple answers were possible.). Leading the list was parties with 31% of responses. Then, at home with 30.9% of responses; and schools with 17.9% of responses. 22.6% of responses listed misc. other locations.

Q. 73 When asked about their drug use in the last year, 83 youth admitted to it. This is a high number of those who have every used them (83 of 93/89.2%). 25.3% of respondents admitted to daily use. 10.7% said once a week; 31% of responses measured this drug use in months and 32.1% of responses listed other.

GRAPH (Tried drugs 93 vs. Still Using 83)

Q. 74 The youth (2258) were asked the age of their first drug use. 49 responses were listed. The age group of 11 to 15 years was the most active in drug experimentation with 55.1% of responses. 16 years and older was second with 34.7%. Below the age of 11 was only 10.2% of responses.

Drug Use Findings

Drug use is not practice by the vast majority of youth according to this survey. 93 youth (4.1% of survey groups) are the core group of drug users.

Among this core group, long-term, regular use is common.

Experimentation with drugs rises sharply when entering the teens.

Peers are the number one group pressing for their use.

 

 

Drug Use Recommendations

Anti-drug messages for youth should continue.

The "core group" of drug users needs to be identified and counselling rather than punishment offered.

These statistics which show the vast majority of youth (95.9%) do not use drugs should be used in peer education campaigns.

NOTE: Peers cannot pressure me to use drugs to "be like the crowd" because the crowd does not use drugs. Peers were also shown to be the most common people to pressure others to use drugs.

Q. 75 The survey group (2258) were asked if they had taken alcohol before. Only 1424 responded. 18.4% confirmed having tried alcohol.

Q. 76 When asked who had influenced them to take alcohol 168 responses out of a total of 72.7% cited friends as the person. Boyfriends 8.2% and girlfriends 6.5% followed. "Other" was cited by 12.6%.

Q. 77 Respondents were asked where they use alcohol. Of the 231 who had taken it, Parties with 40.2% of responses and home 30.1% of responses led the list. Following, were picnics with 11.3%; school with 10.8%, and other places with 7.5% of responses.

Q. 78 The survey group was asked about their alcohol use in the last year. 856 (37.9%) did not respond to the question while 1206 (53.4%) said the question did not apply to them. 196 respondents (8.7%) listed the frequency of alcohol use this last year. The majority of those youth who are taking alcohol are using it no more than once a month, 68.9%. 22.4% are using it weekly and 8.7% on a daily basis.

Q.79 When asked at what age they started taking alcohol, 845 youth (37.4% of survey) did not respond. A further 1165 (51.6%) said the question did not apply to them. 248 (11%) listed the age. The results are as follows in table P-.

Table K-8

Experimentation with alcohol greatly increased in the teenage years. 46.4% tried alcohol between the ages of 11-15 years. A further 39.5% first tried it between the ages of 16 and 20 years.

Alcohol Findings

As with other drugs, alcohol is not widely used among youth according to this survey . Only 11.6% said they had tried it.

Peer pressure is a major influence in its spread.

A small core group of "abusers" can be identified.

Experimentation with alcohol increases greatly during the ages of puberty.

Alcohol Recommendations

Continued education programmes for all youth should be encouraged.

The "core-group" of abusers should be identified and offered counselling, not punishment.

As with drugs, statistics like these in this survey can be used for "Anti-Alcohol" peer education.

Q. 93 The survey group (2258 youth) were asked if they presently smoked tobacco. Only 1396 (61.8%) answered the question. 2.7% of responses said they do.

Q. 94 When the group (2258) was asked if they had ever smoked tobacco 1398 (61.9%) responded to the question. 11.1% confirmed having tried tobacco use.

Tobacco Findings

Tobacco use does not appear to be widespread among youth according to this survey. (Although, a full 38% of the survey group did not respond.)

Tobacco Recommendations

All anti-drug educational campaigns should include tobacco.

Peer education techniques should stress that the vast majority "do not smoke".

Q. 80 The 2258 survey youth were ask if they have ever been in love with a teacher. Only 1419 (62.8%) answered the question. 5.1% said that they had at one time been in love with a teacher.

NOTE: Nowhere does it say that ‘being in love with’ includes sex.

Q. 81 When the 2258 youth were asked if they had ever had sex with a teacher, 3.3% of respondents admitted to such an act. 36.3% youth failed to answer the question.

Q. 82 The survey group was asked, "of those who had sex with teachers", when did that happen in their schooling. 51 youth (2.3% survey group) told when that happened. Yet, only 47 youth had admitted this in question 81.

Of those 51 youth, 37.3% had sexual relations while in primary school. 62.7% did this as secondary and high school students.

Q. 83 When the survey group was asked if they currently had a love affair with a teacher, 44 said yes. This is 93.6% of the 47 who admitted to it earlier (question 81).

Q. 84 The survey group was also asked how long their sexual affair with a teacher had been going on. 22 youth (46.8% of the 47 youth who admitted to affairs) stated the length of time. 45.5% measured the affair in weeks. A further 14.9% measured it in months. And 48.9% had a sexual affair with a teacher for more than a year.

NOTE: 64 respondents, (almost 3 times the number of positive responses) gave unacceptable answers. These was a great deal of confusion over this question.

Q. 85 The 2258 survey youth were asked, "of those who had love affairs with teachers what was the marital status of that teacher?" 72 students (3.2% of the 2258) listed that age. Yet only 47 youth had admitted to affairs.

The majority of teachers having affairs with youth were single, 56.9% of 72 responses. 25% of those teachers were married or co-habiting. Another 18.1% were either divorced, separated or widowed.

Q. 86 When further asked how many teachers they had engaged in sexual affairs with, 52 youth (2.3% of survey group) gave answers. Yet, only 47 had admitted to affairs. The majority of responses, 59.6% had sex with only one teacher. A further 40.4% had sex with 2 or more teachers.

Student/Teacher Relationships Findings

Students having sex with teachers, though not prolific, is happening even at primary school level (37%).

A large number of youth who have sex with teachers (40%) have long-term relationships with them (> year).

The majority of youth who have had sex with teachers are still involved with them (94%).

As probing questions were asked, the numbers of youth who answered them grew above those who admitted to the act.

Student/Teacher Relationships Recommendations

The MOE and TSC have failed to deal with this. These problems should go through normal legal channels (in cases) where the student is under legal age of consent (16 years)

The MOE and TSC should be encouraged to develop sound policies regarding this behaviour.

Education campaigns aimed at the youth should stress the dangers in such affairs.

Q. 88 The 2258 survey youth were asked if they had ever been told that they were HIV⁺. 1402 responded to the question while 856 failed to answer it. 2.5% of the youth agreed that they had been told.

Q. 89 No Data

Q. 90 When asked if they knew anyone who was HIV⁺, 1410 (62.4%) responded. 18.6% agreed that they knew someone infected with the AIDS virus.

Q. 91 The survey group (2258) was asked if they had ever been told that one of their past lovers was HIV infected. 1417 (62.8%) responded. 3.4% confirmed that they had been told of a past lover being HIV⁺.

Q. 92 When further asked if they had ever been told of a past lover who died of AIDS, 1415 (62.9%) responded. Of these, 3.2% admitted that they had.

Q. 109 Finally, the 2258 school youth who were surveyed were asked where they get their information about STDs and AIDS. (Multiple answers were recorded.)

Table P-9

Nurses were the number one source of information on STDs and AIDS with 20.6% of responses. Second, was Radio with 18.4%. Teachers were next with 17.0% and Newspapers with 13.6%. Following these were TV with 11.8%; Friends with 8.3%; Parents with 6.2%; Churches with 2.8 % and "Other" with 1.3%.

HIV Findings

Statistics show a much higher HIV infection rate than is reported here. This coincides with the fact that most infected people are still unaware of their condition.

35 youth had been told they are HIV⁺, yet 45 have been told of a past lover who has died of AIDS. There is still a lot of fear of being tested.

Nurses were the number one source of information as they see these youth at clinics and such.

Radio was the top mass media sources as radios are more common than TVS or newspapers across the country.

HIV Recommendations

HIV and AIDS education should be stepped up among the youth.

The importance of testing would be emphasised in that education.

Youth found to be HIV⁺ should be given love, cared for and counselled.

Nurses should be further empowered with literature to assist them in educating youth.

Radio messages not only reach more people than TVS, they are much cheaper to produce. This would be kept in mind when allocating money for mass education programmes.

The Anti -Aids Clubs should be strengthened in the area of Peer Education. This report will have some powerful statistics for them to use.

This survey indicates a high church attendance among youth. The role of the church in spreading AIDS messages and more importantly in providing support for those who are infected can be very powerful and should be given public support even from non-church attenders.

Provision should be made to ensure that out-of-school youth are not left out of Anti-AIDS educational campaigns.

Q. 95 When asked if they had participated in Umhlanga or Lusekwane in the last 2 years, 1386 (61.3%) responded. 30.8% confirmed their participation in the last two years.

Q. 97 No Question

Q. 98 The survey group was asked why they attended Umhlanga and Lusekwane. 974 responses were given. Only 510 youth had said that they had attended (Multiple responses were given). The majority of youth, 52.8% attend because they want to. 14.9% listed "forced by parents" and "Visiting the Trade Fair". A further 13.7% cited meeting boyfriends/ Girlfriends.

Q. 99 When the survey group was asked if they had ever had sex during Umhlanga or Lusekwane, 72 responded by saying yes. This is 14.1% of all those who had attended.

Traditional Ceremonies Findings

The traditional Ceremonies are popular with many youth. 36% of those who responded had attended and usually because they wanted to.

14% of those who have attended have had sex during the events.

 

Q. 101 The 2258 youth were asked if they believe in God. 866 (38.3%) did not answer the question. 1392 (61.7%) responded. 90.6% stated that they do believe in God.

Q. 102 When further asked if they were saved, 959 (76.1% of those who believe in God) said yes.

Q. 103 The survey group (2258) were asked about the frequency of their Church attendance. 1000 (44.3%) responded to the question.

The majority (74.5%) of those who attend church attend every weekend.

Religion Recommendations

Need cross-tabulation to see if belief in God affects sexual activity.

NOTE: This series of questions focussed on Christians only.

Q. 104 The 2258 youth in the survey group were asked if they knew of any student in their school who had committed suicide. Only 1279 (56.6%) responded to the question. 979 (43.4%) did not. Of those 1279 who responded, 15.3% stated that they did.

Q. 105 The students (2258) were further asked who they talked to when they had problems to sort out. 1197 (53%) responded to the question. 1061 (46.9%) did not. The largest group of students went to their parents for help with their problems 55.2%. Friends were the second most popular answer with 25.6%. Teachers followed with 12.4% of responses and only 6.8% thought of killing themselves.

Problem Solving/Suicide Findings

Though there was many who did not answer this question, the vast majority were able to turn to their parents, friends or teachers for help with their problems.

Problem Solving/Suicide Recommendations

The role of Career Guidance Teachers in counselling students with problems other than school and career decisions should be broadened.

Career Guidance Teachers should be given additional training to enable them to give counselling for a wider range of problems.

 

Q. 106 The survey youth (2258) were asked if they had ever known a student of their school who had been involved in a car accident. 1520 (67.3%) responded to the question. 738 (32.7%) did not respond. Of the 1520 responses, 56.6% stated that they did know of someone. 43.4% said they did not.

Q. 107 The youth (22580 were further asked if they knew of any student who had died in a car accident. 1305 (57.8%) responded while 953 (42.2%) did not. 43.3% said they did know of someone while 56.7% knew of no one.

Q. 108 The survey group (2258) were asked if they had personally been involved in a car accident. 948 (42%) did not answer the question and 1310 (58%) responded. Of that 1310, 15.2% stated that they had and 84.8% had not

NOTE: This questionnaire was far too long. These irrelevant questions could have been omitted.

First Sex Recommendations Q1-9

Poverty, overcrowding and sharing of sleeping quarters may have a detrimental affect on the lives of small children if they are exposed to the sexual activities of adults.

AIDS prevention programmes should strive to reach the youth at primary school level before they become sexually active. (Prevention is better than cure.)

Current Sexual Activity Recommendations

Making condoms available to sexually active youth is a must, if the spread of STDs and HIV among the youth is to be contained and further loss of lives avoided.

Steps should be taken to identify this core group which is practising multiple partner sex and offer education and counselling to them.

AIDS prevention programmes should have specific programmes directed at the male and female gender among the youth.

Educational programmes should also have a strong component of negotiation skills, risk assessment, self assertiveness and self-esteem to empower each youth (male and female) to make responsible, well-informed decisions about their sex life and prevent STDs, HIV infection and pregnancy.

Educational programmes should try to reach youth early, before they begin sexual activity (5-10 years of age).

Extensive advocacy must take place to up-date the laws on rape and incest, and strengthen the enforcement of those laws.

A core group of youths are repeat rapists. These need to be identified and offered counselling/punishment.

More research should be done to assess the amount of incestual rape which is occurring in Swaziland.

Educational programmes targeting youth should continue to stress the dangers of ‘sugar daddies’ and ‘sugar mommies’.

STDs Recommendations

Mass education on importance of complete medical treatment of STDs.

Improved case management of STD among the youth including an expanded counselling programme.

Expanded programme of tracing and treating of partners.

The possibility of piloting a Reproductive Health clinic for youth, where they could routinely go for medical check ups to know about their STD/HIV status and receive counselling should be explored.

The counselling skills of nurses who treat STDs should be strengthened.

Again, as probing questions continued, more and more youth responded to them (i.e. 44 had been told of an STD yet 55 had received treatment).

Homosexual Recommendations

Though we do not want to discriminate against people because of their sexual orientation, many of these relationships are beginning at a very early age. The legal implications of having homosexual relations with minors needs to be examined.

Homosexual youth should be encouraged to abstain from sex until a later age the same as heterosexual youth although, safe sex education should also be made available to them.

Contraceptives Recommendations

Education on the correct use of condoms should be stepped up among the youth. (Not to the exclusion of abstinence as an option.)

Condoms should be made more readily available.

Clinic staff, Career Guidance Teachers, RHMs, etc. should be educated on the importance of contraception for youth and given more emphasis in distribution programmes.

Drug Use Recommendations

Anti-drug messages for youth should continue.

The "core group" of drug users needs to be identified and counselling rather than punishment offered.

These statistics which show the vast majority of youth (95.9%) do not use drugs should be used in peer education campaigns.

Alcohol Recommendations

Continued education programmes for all youth should be encouraged.

The "core-group" of abusers should be identified and offered counselling, not punishment.

As with drugs, statistics like these in this survey can be used for "Anti-Alcohol" peer education.

Tobacco Recommendations

All anti-drug educational campaigns should include tobacco.

Peer education techniques should stress that the vast majority "do not smoke".

Student/Teacher Relationships Recommendations

The MOE and TSC have failed to deal with this. These problems should go through normal legal channels (in cases) where the student is under legal age of consent (16 years)

The MOE and TSC should be encouraged to develop sound policies regarding this behaviour.

Education campaigns aimed at the youth should stress the dangers in such affairs.

HIV Recommendations

HIV and AIDS education should be stepped up among the youth.

The importance of testing would be emphasised in that education.

Youth found to be HIV⁺ should be loved, given care and counselling.

Nurses should be further empowered with literature to assist them in educating youth.

Radio messages not only reach more people than TVS, they are much cheaper to produce. This would be kept in mind when allocating money for mass education programmes.

The Anti -Aids Clubs should be strengthened in the area of Peer Education. This report will have some powerful statistics for them to use.

This survey indicates a high church attendance among youth. The role of the church in spreading AIDS messages and more importantly in providing support for those who are infected can be very powerful and should be given public support even from non-church attenders.

Provision should be made to ensure that out-of-school youth are not left out of Anti-AIDS educational campaigns.

Religion Recommendations

Need cross-tabulation to see if belief in God affects sexual activity.

Problem Solving/Suicide Recommendations

The role of Career Guidance Teachers in counselling students with problems other than school and career decisions should be broadened.

Career Guidance Teachers should be given additional training to enable them to give counselling for a wider range of problems.

 

Click here for Part 3 of this paper
Click here for Part 2 of this paper
Click here for Part 1 of this paper

 

[ BOLESWA'97 Home ] [ Table of Contents ]
[ Abstracts ] [ List & Search of Papers ]
[ University of Swaziland ] [ Swaziland Institute of Distance Education ]
[ Related Web Sites ] [ Directory of Links ]

This Web Site was edited and produced by Professor Stewart Marshall
(email: mase.marshall@iname.com )
Copyright © 1998 Institute of Distance Education and authors of papers
Last modified:  26-Apr-99