Full Description
From social silence to social science: same-sex sexuality, HIV & AIDS and gender in South Africa presents a unique and innovative effort to examine what we know about homosexual transmission of HIV and AIDS in South Africa. It reverses the trend whereby categories of same sex sexual practice are almost always excluded from research of HIV and AIDS, as well as from care and intervention programmes. The varied contributors (academics, activists and programme planners) draw attention to the risk behaviours and treatment needs of people who engage in homosexual sex, and explain why same-sex sexuality has to be seen as key within South African efforts to study, test and prevent HIV infection. Relevant to scholarly debates about HIV and AIDS, it is also essential reading for anyone involved in research, policymaking, advocacy and community development.
Contents
Theory, methodology, context: Researching same-sex sexuality and HIV; sexuality research in South Africa: the policy context; same-sex sexuality and health - current psychosocial scientific research in South Africa; homosexual and bisexual labels - the need for clear conceptualisations, operationalisations and appropriate methodological designs; gender, same-sex sexuality and HIV/Aids in South Africa: practical research challenges and solutions; from social silence to social science - HIV research among township MSM in South Africa. History, memory, archive: Gay aids activism in South Africa prior to 1994; sexing women: young black lesbian women's reflections on sex and responses to safe(r) sex in Johannesburg; creating memory - documenting and disseminating life stories of lgbti people living with HIV perspectives from Sub-Saharan and Southern Africa; what we know about same-sex practicing people and HIV in Africa; same-sex sexuality and HIV/Aids: a perspective from Malawi; a bird's eye view of HIV and gay and lesbian issues in Zimbabwe; epidemiological disjunctures: a review of same-sex sexuality and HIV research in Sub-Saharan Africa. Needs, programming, policy and direction for future research: mobilising gay and lesbian organisations to respond to the political challenges of the South African HIV epidemic; are South African HIV policies and programmes meeting the needs of samesex practising individuals?; lessons learned from current South African HIV/Aids research among lesbian/gay/bisexual populations; observations on HIV and Aids in Cape Town's lgbt population; some personal and political perspectives on HIV/Aids in ethekwini; health for all? women who have sex with women (wsw) health needs and issues taking research-based prevention forward.
