Inviting a group of young women to sit down and talk HIV and Aids may
sound simple, but no matter how many times it happens, infections rates continue
to climb. So what is the problem? Could it be a total lack of interest by those
most at risk? That’s just one of the questions being asked and which will
hopefully will be answered by a group of three hundred young women. The participants
who are all under the age of twenty four have been invited to share their views
on what they believe has not worked, and what has yet to be tried. The summit
is part of Belize’s multi-sectoral response to HIV and Aids that and is
organized by the Women’s Department. The women represent high school students,
those who are out of school, and young mothers.
Icilda Humes, Director - Women’s Department
“It is easy for us to sit in our offices and design programs and activities
and interventions and strategies that are supposed to be aimed at addressing
the epidemic within certain populations, in this instance young women. But that’s
not necessarily effective because as much as we would like to consider ourselves
to be young, we are living in a different reality from the young women in our
country. Even if that entails them saying to us that the Women’s Department
isn’t doing enough, you’re not reaching us, your public awareness
materials aren’t friendly, we don’t listen to them, they are not
getting the message. Even if that is happening, that is what we want to hear
because that means we have to accept that and we have to go back into our offices
and sit down and try to design interventions, try to design activities and programs
that will really really touch on behavioural change.”
Juana Rodriquez, Single Mom
“I think like community services in town and villages would be very
important, like youths having a debate every week with one another, boys against
girls or young people against others. Something like that would be very educational
for us to learn more.”
Tracy Sabal, ACC Student
“I think they are being pressured, I really think so because for the
young adults to listen to everybody’s side, it is very challenging when
it is time for them to make up their minds.”
Jestine Torres, EP Yorke Student
“As a result of today’s summit, I would like us, the teenagers
to pass on the message that we have learned to people from our schools, people
around our neighbourhood and even if we are in a youth group, people in our
youth group, we can talk to them and them tell them about what we have learnt
today.”
Icilda Humes,
“What we’re hoping to get from this group of young women here
is suggestions about the sort of public awareness material that we can start
producing that is receptive to them. We will be compiling the suggestions and
we will be taking it back. We have several proposals that we are in the process
of writing to UNFPA and our other technical partners about programs and projects.
We want to ensure that we’re not just looking at women generally, we are
also looking at young women, we’re looking at women with disabilities,
we’re looking at rural women.”
The Women’s Department states that activities such as the summit
is in keeping with their effort to empower women to make informed decisions.
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