Third Degree AIDS Review
Guest Editor: Cal Volks | Series Editor: Mary Crewe
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Anton Smit, The burning man, 2012. Metal. Collection of University of Pretoria. Photo: EYEscape.
Third Degree AIDS Review
Front cover: Andries Botha, For those who will not hear, 1995. Bronze. Collection of Durban University of Technology. Photographer: Paul Mills. I entered a public commissioning process to pitch for this work. ... I knew that the proposed position of this work would be outside the library ... of the Durban University of Technology. What I was actually trying to capture or distil was the idea that education was rarely about the
This extraordinary Review is a collaboration between the
art of listening and doing a small bit of talking. I was also
HIV/AIDS Institutional Coordination Unit (University of Cape
wondering, as the baton of our authority shifted ... from
Town) and the Centre for the Study of AIDS (University of
white ... to black South Africans, if a new generation would improve upon the obtuseness of the previous generation.
Pretoria). This Review is partially funded by HEAIDS, the
Would it be that another idea of power could be more
HIV/AIDS programme of Higher Education South Africa, and
responsive to the needs of our beleaguered humanity?
the European Union. The views expressed in the Review do not necessarily express those of any of the funders.
An institute of learning presupposes that the secrets that we seek on the journey of our historical evolution are embedded within or without our evolving humanity and the archive of knowledge that we hold and that we have
Publisher: Centre for the Study of AIDS University of Pretoria
learnt from our experience. With all public works, once
Guest editor: Cal Volks
you release them, they are then subject to the vagaries of
Series editor: Mary Crewe
a mass of people that will then read the work in multiple
Editor: Robin Hamilton
different ways. It is interesting for me that this work has
Design and production: Bluprint Design
never ever been vandalised ... On the other hand, it is also interesting to me that the institution, who is supposed to care for its cultural investment, has paid little attention to it and neither given much love to it. That is just the way
Copyright © 2012, University of Pretoria and the authors. All rights reserved.
in which art enters the world, mostly through the back door (Andries Botha, February 2012).
ISBN 978-1-86854-728-9
7 Foreword
13 HIV/AIDS and higher education: are we asking the correct questions?
Cal Volks
29 Hypocrisy, HIV and higher education:
Contents
an ‘institutional integrity’ hypothesis
Pierre Brouard
49
Bland management
Mary Crewe
63 Cultural nostalgia and critical dialogue in peer education? Towards a generative space for HIV prevention in higher education settings
Relebohile Moletsane
77 Interrogating the link between gendered
sexualities, power and legal mechanisms:
experiences from the lecture room
Sylvia Tamale
Willem Boshoff, Thinking stone, 2010. Belfast black granite. Collection of University of the Free State, Sculpture-
105 Centre for the Study of AIDS
on-Campus Project funded by the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund.
109 HIV/AIDS Institutional Co-ordination Unit
Photo: Angela de Jesus.
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David Brown, Dialogue at the dogwatch, 1994. Bronze, copper, brass, corten and stainless steel. Collection of University of Cape Town. Photo: Katherine Traut.
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Foreword Tertiary institutions occupy a unique position in shaping
history, the nature and the shape of the epidemics – their
debate, action and policy with regards to HIV and AIDS.
swathe through society being the greatest social challenge
This, the second extraordinary AIDS Review, Third degree,
of our time – reveal themselves as an intellectual conun-
examines various ways in which tertiary institutions could
drum, and therefore a core function of tertiary institutions
be, and are, responding to the HIV and AIDS epidemics.
is to address them. An effective response requires that
(We speak of these as distinct, but overlapping, epi-
the entire institution recognise both the threat of HIV
demics because HIV infection, as a period of apparent
and AIDS and the possibilities for a transformed institu-
wellness but increasing vulnerability to illness, not only
tion and society that they represent. This involves eval-
precedes the formal clinical stage of AIDS, but it also
uating the essence, culture and power of the institution
carries sometimes different personal and social meanings
– its sometime hidden workings – and its relationship
and requires different responses from public health and
and interaction with wider society.
other practitioners.) Living and working in the epicentre of epidemics like HIV This Review is a collaboration between HAICU, based at
and AIDS positions one very differently in relation to the
the University of Cape Town, and the CSA, based at the
concerns of the rest of the world, and the rest of the
University of Pretoria. These two organisations are com-
world dealing with HIV and AIDS (noting that it is a
mitted to finding ways to understand and explain the
unique ’world’ of its own with a culture, dynamics and
HIV and AIDS epidemics, and to determining how tertiary
contestations). We have watched as HIV prevalence
institutions and the wider society may come to address
rose, and we have seen how the epidemics have become
and act on the many complex and fascinating social, moral,
routinised. They are now seen as yet another fact of South
political, economic and educational issues that the epi-
African life and in some ways as taken for granted as
demics raise.
reckless driving, violence, crime and poverty, and a sort of weariness sets in, a fatalism, a feeling that perhaps in the
The reason why tertiary institutions should respond to
end all we can do is to sit them out.
HIV and AIDS lies potentially in the recognition that the
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But on the other hand, being in the epicentre of these
In times of crisis, such as are posed by the HIV and AIDS
epidemics means that their impact is such that we have
epidemics, or in protecting a fragile democracy, the intel-
to find ways to live through and beyond them and emerge
lectual is very often looked upon to represent, speak out
as a far better society than before, develop new social
for, and testify to the sufferings of others, and to offer
understandings and meanings and see how they can
a vision of a new society based on new ways of seeing
shape the country in ways not yet seen or imagined.
and living.
These epidemics must be a catalyst around which dramatic and positive social change can be forged, in parallel with, and indeed affected by and affecting, the other turbulent changes which have come with our new democracy.
For many years, in the years of the political struggle and immediately after 1994, there has been intellectual ferment in South Africa, involving the engagement and curiosity of all but a few academics. Commitment to research, informed by an intellectual and political sophistication, has been the hallmark of politics and ideology in South Africa, yet this has been starkly absent in responses to HIV and AIDS.
As Edward Said reminds us, prominent intellectuals are always in a symbolic relationship with their time – in the public consciousness they represent a force which can be mobilised on behalf of an ongoing struggle or embattled community, for example people living with HIV, orphans or marginalised women. To this very important task of representing the collective suffering (the impact of infection with HIV, the toll of death from AIDS-related conditions, the social stigma) and testifying to their travails, there must be added something else, the task of universalising the crisis (AIDS affects the whole society, not just designated and singledout groups), the task of giving greater human scope to what a particular group, race or nation suffers (the reality
The exact effects of our combined intellectual neglect
of living in the epicentre of the epidemic) and the task
and denial of the ways in which our society deals with
of associating that experience with the sufferings, and
these epidemics, remain to be seen. The consequence of
indeed life aspirations, of others (recognising now that
our failure as academics to create new models of expla-
there can be no academic work that ignores AIDS).
nation and understanding, and new ways of seeing, remains one of the most searing indictments of our roles as
In times of crisis critical intellectuals become more im-
academics, theorists and researchers.
portant. Intellectuals are able to think of ways to shape
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responses, to understand and explain social events, and
failed in our role as thinkers, social commentators and
to think about the relationship between theory and
problem solvers. We have also treated the communities
practice. The role of intellectuals is to think about ways
and ‘the people’ in simplistic and patronising ways by
to transform society, to develop new patterns of mean-
thinking that they cannot engage in these kinds of de-
ing and association, and to contemplate new social and
bates. At times we have essentialised their ways, tradi-
political formations.
tions, cultures and beliefs, afraid or unwilling to challenge them or to engage with aspects which are problematic.
The response of a university to the crises of HIV and AIDS needs to be grounded in intellectual debate and activity.
Tertiary institutions need to develop in their students criti-
Students attending tertiary institutions do so because
cal minds that constantly challenge the taken-for-granted.
they are keen to study further, and because they are
We need ’intellectual activists‘ who will utilise intellectual
capable of sophisticated thought, grappling with diffi-
curiosity, looking for hidden agendas, intriguing patterns
cult issues and seeking new solutions. They are the future
and inter-related forces, and constantly asking difficult
leaders of society, whether through their places of work,
questions. We need vision, optimism and honesty. The HIV
their political or economic development, or through their
and AIDS epidemics have highlighted how many people
commitment to social change through community-based
inhabit areas of dishonesty, unable to discuss their sexual
work and work in social, economic and political devel-
experiences, unable to understand the sexuality of young
opment.
people and in denial about sexual lives and identities which do not fit into neat pre-determined formulas.
This work is crucial in a region with such entrenched epidemics. In part, we have failed to stem these epidemics
HIV and AIDS are in many ways a reflection of our society:
because we have failed to understand them. We have
a reflection not just of sexual patterns of behaviour but
oversimplified very complex issues and formulated re-
a reflection of our failure, intellectually, to understand
sponses that are too simple for the complexity of the
the societies in which we live because we tend to cling
problem. We have often been caught up in an uncritical
to and defend what we know. We fear the challenge of
populism – in attempts to serve ‘the people’ we have
opening debates on race, gender, class and culture. We
failed because we have not applied academic rigour
acquiesce in the face of authority. We defend lies and
and knowledge to the problems and so we have often
corruption. We refuse to confront difficult issues. We
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blame others and we are cautious about stepping ’out-
Third Degree reflects on tertiary institutions as the third
side’ and being the voices that challenge the status quo,
educational tier, the fact that institutions are often given
orthodoxy and state policy.
‘the third degree’ about their HIV and AIDS responses, and their needs to be autonomous and critical. This AIDS
In the tertiary context there is a safe and privileged space
Review acknowledges that the tertiary sector plays a crucial
to create new ideas and to ask questions, questions about
role in responses to HIV and AIDS, but also that these
how a university mirrors society; questions about racism
responses need to be challenging, critical, controversial
and class dispensation; questions about how universities
and informed.
feed into negative images of culture, and notions of stigma, privilege, gender and disability. Crucially, to what extent do students and staff with HIV have to hide their status, or is the university a place where someone can feel supported by the whole institution and its members? To conclude, dealing with HIV and AIDS in the tertiary sector is about dealing with ideas, vision, reflection, hope and possibility. This AIDS Review offers reflections on tertiary responses.
The images for this Review reflect artworks from the collections of several South Africa tertiary institutions. The institutions and many of the artists gave permission for their works to be published in this AIDS Review and we would like to acknowledge the support of the sector and the following artists: Bonita Alice, Willem Boshoff, Andries Botha, David Brown, Arend Eloff, Thomas Kubayi, Noria Mabasa, Walter Oltman, Andre Otto, Azwifarwi Ragimana, Anton Smit, Angus Taylor, Jan van der Merwe and Gavin Young.
Cal Volks examines the history of the HEAIDS-supported response and asks critical questions about the way in which that response tends to homogenise institutions and expects
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
conformity and compliance. Mary Crewe offers ideas about the role of the sector in offering a critical response to HIV
Cal Volks is the director of the HIV/AIDS Co-ordination Unit
and AIDS. Pierre Brouard looks at how institutional in-
at the University of Cape Town. She has a background in
tegrity, or the lack of it, can influence responses to HIV
health promotion and management and holds an MA de-
and AIDS. Lebo Moletsane examines the role of culture
gree from Rhodes University. Cal has worked in HIV/AIDS
and cultural nostalgia in peer education, and Sylvia Tamale
prevention, education and management for the past 20
discusses a gender-based response in a law faculty.
years.
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Mary Crewe is the director of the Centre for the Study of
Sylvia Tamale is an associate professor of law at Makerere
AIDS at the University of Pretoria. Starting from the early
University (Uganda) and founder of the Law, Gender and
1990s, she was a founder member and co-chair of NACOSA
Sexuality Research Project in the same institution.
and the AIDS Consortium, and subsequently became the chair of the National Department of Education and Health Committee for HIV/AIDS education in schools. She works
AIDS REVIEWS
regularly with various UN agencies such as UNAIDS, UNICEF and UNESCO, has been a planning member of a number of
2000 – To the edge by Hein Marais
local and international AIDS conferences, and sits on many
2001 – Who cares? by Tim Trengove Jones
NGO boards. She has links with local, regional and inter-
2002 – Whose right? by Chantal Kissoon, Mary
national tertiary institutions, has published a book on AIDS and authored many articles.
Caesar and Tashia Jithoo 2003 – (Over) extended by Vanessa Barolsky 2004 – (Un) Real by Kgamadi Kometsi
Pierre Brouard is the deputy director of the Centre for the Study of AIDS at the University of Pretoria and is a registered clinical psychologist. He has worked in HIV since the mid 1980s and at the Centre for ten years. His interests in-
2005 – What’s cooking? by Jimmy Pieterse and Barry van Wyk 2005 – Buckling by Hein Marais (an extraordinary Review)
clude sexualities, gender, human rights, stigma, govern-
2006 – Bodies count by Jonathan D. Jansen
ance, leadership, accountability, structural drivers of HIV,
2007 – Stigma(ta): Re-exploring HIV-related stigma
prevention, and psychosocial and care issues.
by Patrick M. Eba 2008 – Balancing acts by Carmel Rickard
Relebohile Moletsane is a professor and the John Langali-
2009 – Magic by Fraser G. McNeil and Isak Niehaus
balele Dube Chair in Rural Education in the Faculty of
2011 – (B)order(s) by Vasu Reddy
Education at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Her areas
2012 – Third degree by Cal Volks, Pierre Brouard,
of practice include rural education and development,
Mary Crewe, Relebohile Moletsane and Sylvia
curriculum studies and gender and education, including
Tamale (an extraordinary Review)
gender-based violence and its links to HIV and AIDS,
2012 – Off label by Jonathan Stadler
stigma and body politics.
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Angus Taylor, Three granite figures (one of three), 2008. Belfast granite and metal. Collection of University of Pretoria. Photo: EYEscape.
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HIV/AIDS and higher education: Are we asking the correct questions? Cal Volks
INTRODUCTION
One response has been a continued attempt between 1999 and 2012 to create broad policy frameworks nation-
For the past 12 years, there has been a growing recognition
ally. While there was a place for policy frameworks and
of the role, globally, and particularly in Southern Africa,
there is room for updating them, HEIs should now focus on
that universities should play in the struggle against HIV
critically analysing the obstacles to policy implementation
and AIDS. “[Their] role as opinion-formers within society,
and separate areas of HIV intervention at HEIs, define the
their pivotal position in the creation and dissemination
problems accordingly and look for achievable ways to over-
of knowledge (and research) and their contribution to
come these obstacles. The institutional response to HIV/
their nations’ human resource capacity marks them out as
AIDS needs to be sophisticated, acknowledging the con-
an essential site for the establishment of national, regional
straints (e.g. funding, personnel, and access to staff and
and global responses to the scourge of HIV/AIDS.”1
students) and heterogeneity within and between institutions. The ‘call to action’ now is a call for detailed reflective
Over the years there have been several ‘calls to action’
analysis to achieve specific implementation plans that are
for higher education Institutions (HEIs) to develop an ap-
tailored to individual institutions, sufficiently recognising
propriate response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic, both from
organisational heterogeneity within tertiary institutions.
departments within these institutions and externally by HEI networking organisations, development agencies and government bodies. Initial mobilisation led to funding for institution-specific HIV policies and programmes. But as the HEIs have tried to implement their policies, obstacles have become apparent. Further funding and focus is required.
HEIs, like other organisations, need to analyse the effectiveness of their policies. However, this is a relatively recent development for HEIs: … the orientation of tertiary institutions is outward looking. Research, community service, and – to a lesser extent – teaching are all externally
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focused activities. Consequently, there is little in solutions as might have been hoped for, it is necessary the institutional culture of universities and other to draw on the history of South African HEIs’ response to tertiary institutions that encourages, or even faciliHIV/AIDS. tates, analysis or constructive critique of the institution itself. Any assessment of institutional responses to the threat of HIV/AIDS must therefore be cast The initial response by HEIs as a sector to the HIV/AIDS against this backdrop. With the emergence of pandemic was relatively slow. Martin and Alexander (2001), strategic planning over the past decade as a funin their essay on HIV/AIDS in South Africa’s HEIs, commentdamental tool for institutional development and management (Ekong & Plante 1996, Hayward & ed that “as with many other institutions (in South Africa) Ncayiyana 2003), internal resistance to institutional … the universities and technikons responded at tortoiseassessment has begun to erode. Tertiary institutions like speed … (with the exception of) the University of Cape are increasingly obliged to take stock of their performance, and to address the source of identified Town, which adopted a policy in 1993 that focused on the shortcomings. At the same time, perhaps rights and responsibilities of staff and stunot coincidentally, higher education man- Perhaps it was a failure dents, raised awareness and implemented agement has emerged as a new discipline to realise how or why for graduate study, fostering research on education and support programmes … (and) HIV/AIDS was relevant this topic by both students and academic the University of Stellenbosch, which introto HEIs that led to the staff. As a result, in-house issues, such as duced a more limited policy at the same time, learning performance, student financing, delayed response. [South African] universities did not respond budget effectiveness, graduate performance in the labour market, and many others have until 1999.” now become legitimate topics for academic inquiry … One topic, however, remains largely outside the Perhaps it was a failure to realise how or why HIV/AIDS was scope of concern in many tertiary institutions. That 2 topic is HIV/AIDS.” relevant to HEIs that led to the delayed response. Commenting on the initial failure of HEIs to respond to the HIV/ AIDS pandemic, the director of the Centre for the Study of
HISTORY
AIDS at the University of Pretoria, Mary Crewe (2000), noted that “… like business, despite the projections and
In order to demonstrate that national endeavors have
the warnings, [universities] did not until very recently
resulted in broad HIV/AIDS policy efforts and activities
imagine that AIDS was an issue that they needed to take
rather than sufficiently nuanced analysis, articulation and
seriously … [there are] many people in universities who
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believe that the sexual behaviour of their students, their
universities in Africa. The case studies were summarised
colleagues and possibly even themselves is not relevant to
in a report by Kelly (2001) of the University of Zambia
the university role in preparing the next generation of law-
entitled Challenging the Challenger: Understanding and
yers, teachers, doctors, scientists, farmers and priests.”
Expanding the Response of Universities in Africa to HIV/
3
AIDS. Kelly commented on the slow response of HEIs themThere was global attention from external agencies on the
selves, stating, “The most striking feature of the university
impact of HIV/AIDS on HEIs between 1999 and 2000. In
response to HIV/AIDS is what can only be described as the
1999 the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU)
awe-inspiring silence that surrounds the disease at institu-
organised jointly with the University of Natal a symposium
tional, academic and personal levels … Both individuals
entitled The Social Demographic Impact of HIV/AIDS:
and institutions conduct themselves as if the disease did not
Commonwealth Universities Respond. The ACU Lusaka report (2001) identified the following barriers to HEIs developing an appropriate response:
The most striking feature of the university response to HIV/ AIDS is what can only be described as the awe-inspiring silence that surrounds the
• L ack of high-level commitment • Lack of necessary structures for implementation
disease at institutional, academic and personal levels.
• Lack of empirical evidence of the scope and scale of the problem
exist.” This initial failure to respond was despite evidence from the case-studies suggesting that the university in Africa was a high-risk institution for the transmission of HIV.
In 2001, a workshop was held that was attended by senior representatives from
ten universities in Southern and Eastern Africa. “The workshop participants unanimously agreed that in the crisis
• Lack of resources (human and financial)
situation arising from HIV/AIDS universities … must con-
• Lack of buy-in from the campus community
tribute effectively to preventing the further spread of the
• Limited access to the academic curriculum.
epidemic and in managing its impacts … both within their
4
own institutions and within the society they serve.”5 The In 2001, the Working Group on Higher Education (WGHE)
participating universities indicated that they attached
of the Association for the Development of Education in
‘the highest priority’ to developing an appropriate in-
Africa (ADEA), a World Bank initiative, commissioned
stitutional response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic:
case studies on the impact of HIV/AIDS on individual
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As responsible educators and researchers in their respective communities they recognised their responsibility to commit their intellectual resources and energies to reducing the spread of HIV infection, caring for the infected and affected, and providing support. They indicated their intention to develop policies and management structures that would take adequate account of HIV/AIDS; to mainstream HIV/AIDS perspectives into the professional training of all students at all levels; to engage in dialogue and outreach activities in their AIDS-affected communities and societies.6
• Many interventions operated in a once-off manner or defined HIV/AIDS solely as a health issue. Often responsibility for coordinating a response was delegated to a person or department which also had many existing responsibilities. • Networks and partnerships were poorly developed and maintained and many institutions worked in isolation. • Various issues, including rape, needed to be addressed more effectively. • Monitoring and evaluation of programmes needed to
Each of these identified barriers required specific analysis regarding what plan of action might remedy the situation and then a search for solutions in order to move forward.
be improved.
Many institutions focused too heavily on policy to the exclusion
• Most institutions lacked the financial, human, material and intellectual resources to handle the epidemic effectively.7
of implementation. Also in 2001, the South African Vice Chan-
At the 2003 Conference of Rectors, Vice Chan-
cellors’ Association (SAUVCA) looked at South African HEI
cellors and Presidents (COREVIP), the African Association of
responses to HIV/AIDS and issued a report. Key findings
Universities (AAU) convened a meeting on Higher Edu-
included:
cation Institutions and HIV/AIDS:
• Responses from the 21 universities surveyed were uneven and ad hoc. • The political climate surrounding HIV/AIDS was detrimental to the universities’ efforts. • M any institutions focused too heavily on policy to the exclusion of implementation [Emphasis mine].
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From the discussion it was apparent that a number of universities, mostly Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda, have institutional HIV/ AIDS policies in place [Emphasis mine]. A number of other institutions have initiated peer education, awareness campaigns, and condom distribution … It was generally agreed that despite these efforts, a lot more was needed from the universities to address HIV/AIDS …8
Following on from the SAUVCA 2000 research,9 where the
individual grants were awarded to enable institutions
recommendations were to develop a sector-wide response
to contribute funding to their own priority areas.
and to build capacity at national and institutional levels, a funding proposal was sent to the UK Department for
In 2002, Development Co-operation Ireland became a joint
International Development (DfID) to establish and build
funder, and working groups were established for peer
capacity to manage the impact at national and institu-
education, curriculum integration, and voluntary testing
tional levels.10 Approximately one million pounds was
and counselling. HEAIDS programme documentation states,
awarded between 2002 and 2005 and Higher Education
“At its inception, the HEAIDS programme was conscious
Against AIDS (HEAIDS) was established as “a nationally co-
of the need to respect a strong tradition of institutional
ordinated large-scale effort to develop and strengthen
autonomy in South Africa. It was neither appropriate nor
the capacity, systems and structures of all HEIs to prevent,
feasible to expect 36 widely disparate institutions to follow
manage, and mitigate the causes, challenges and consequences of HIV/AIDS in the sub-sector.”11 A partnership was established between the South African Department of Education, DfID, SAUVCA and the Committee of Technikon Principals.
At its inception, the HEAIDS programme was conscious of the need to respect a strong tradition of institutional autonomy in South Africa.
exactly the same template and achieve the same outputs … HEAIDS promoted the option of designing responses to HIV/AIDS that were specific to each institution but located within the broader framework. Flexibility and appropriateness were the
key principles.”12 The individual institutional grants were This philosophy resulted in different institutions being
approved and ranged from R150 000 to R350 000 (US$15 000
given individual institutional grants and a portion of fund-
to US$35 000) per institution.
ing allocated to national projects, including for working groups (regarding peer education and HIV testing) and
In 2002, HEAIDS commissioned an audit to assess “the
funds for an HIV audit. Despite controversy about the fact
range of services, activities and interventions in each of the
that different institutions were given varying grants based
35 Higher Education Institutions in South Africa against the
on National Department of Education subsidies, and the
programme framework and its indicators”.13 Important
number of previously disadvantaged students being
findings included:
served at the HEI, there was a general satisfaction that
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The HIV Stigma Project: Helen Aadnesgaard, Emily Allan, Kirsten Arendse, Michelle Aucamp, Kylie Ballantine, Frances Black, Paris Brummer; Fountain (installation), 2012. Water, glass jars, self-adhesive labels, ink. Photo: Paris Brummer. UCT students filled glass jars with water and arranged them in a series of circles. Each jar was labeled with name of an acquaintance within the group members’ social circles. A single smashed jar was placed in the centre of the artwork. The work attempts to visualise how stigma is experienced in social circles.
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• A large number of HEIs had created a policy [Emphasis mine].
from management and human resources had received training and even fewer reported that union members
• Less than half of the HEIs had an HIV centre at their institution. Fourteen (out of 35) that did not have one
had received training. • Very few respondents believed there were sufficient financial and staff resources to offer onsite HIV/AIDS
did see the need for one. • Management of institutions’ HIV/AIDS response rested
services.
mainly with institutional HIV/AIDS officers [known as
• Few policies contained clauses relating to inclusion of
IOs] who had to be appointed to manage individual
HIV/AIDS in the curriculum. Only one third of the insti-
DfID grants. “Unfortunately, many IOs also [held] other
tutions appear to have established a policy for infusing
positions, or [had] other duties and responsibilities, that
HIV/AIDS into the curriculum. Vice chancellors and insti-
compete[d] with their time and energy … In addition
tutional officers were asked to rank the most important programme components for future HEAIDS
many [were] not employed on a permanent basis, and 10 of these work[ed] only part time on the programme.” • A SWOT analysis of the institutions’ capacity to implement the programme revealed
Few policies contained
focus and the results showed overwhelming
clauses relating to
consensus for the first priority being integrat-
inclusion of HIV/AIDS in
ing HIV into the curriculum, followed by
the curriculum.
prevention and support services. Very few
that insufficient committed funding, a lack of human resources and a lack of strategic planning and coordination were commonly mentioned as weaknesses.
lecturers had received capacity building to enable teaching on HIV-related materials. • [On a positive note] [m]ost HEIs distributed condoms. Some 26 had established voluntary counselling and test-
• Half of the HEIs had additional resources allocated to
ing (VCT) services. Many offered treatment of sexually
HIV/AIDS planning and activities (other than those of-
transmitted infections. Many offered peer education
fered by DfID/HEAIDS). However, less than half reported
programmes for students. Many reported that they
that HIV/AIDS featured in their current HEI plan.
offered treatment, care and support services to staff
• O nly nine HEIs had staff workplace programmes
and students either on site, off site or both. Most HEIs
focusing more on information than treatment, al-
had on-site clinic or health services.14
though ten reported their programmes were being developed. Only half indicated that representatives
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From the results of the audit, it is clear that what was re-
would remain a barrier articulated in an audit with too
quired following the period between 1999 and 2003 was
broad a brushstroke for ‘lack of curriculum integration’
a consolidation of HIV/AIDS projects that were already in
in general.
place and activities to take these projects to an improved level in specifically defined areas. Using HIV/AIDS curricu-
Similarly, where peer education programmes were already
lum integration as an example, the discourse needed to
in place, specific monitoring goals could have been drawn
shift from whether HIV/AIDS should be included in curricu-
up that assessed the outcome of programmes in terms of
la in general to the specifics of a curriculum response.
contextual issues such as gender norms and HIV stigma. Where HIV testing programmes were already in place,
In 2012, we should understand results from analyses of different curriculum models relevant to differentiated disciplines. We need to move on to explore what types of curriculum models work best for whom in what setting, and what are the barriers to implementing curriculum programmes that have been evaluated as being effective. For example, if it was
what could have been assessed was the impact of such
We need to move on to explore what types of curriculum models work best for whom in what setting, and what are the barriers to implementing curriculum programmes that have been evaluated as being effective.
testing on prevention behaviour. With regards to workplace programmes, if nine were in place, with ten on the way, this could have been a key time to articulate what was working in terms of prevention, and assess and articulate the barriers to implementation.
articulated that there was difficulty in integrating HIV
By the end of 2005, HEAIDS had secured a partnership with
and AIDS into Engineering curricula due to Engineering
the European Union and the Department of Education
Departments working according to specifications from
for €20 million to support the HEAIDS Programme for
national or global engineering standards boards, and there
the period 2006 to 2007, for the set-up phase to end in
being insufficient time to cover core curricula with suf-
January 2008. (The date was ultimately re-negotiated to
ficient student through-put for local government funding
31 March 2010 for implementation.) Grants to a total value
formulae, then discussions could be held with Engineering
of R59,3 million were awarded to 21 institutions. It was
Boards to include relevant and appropriate HIV/AIDS
my impression again that institutions were pleased about
criteria, e.g. in health and safety courses, courses about staff
having individual grants because they could rank their
management, etc. Without adequate assessment this issue
priorities best. The remainder of the funding was spent
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on national co-ordination projects for which tenders were
document research data in a standardised manner (To
put out. In a communication dated 22 January 2008, HEAIDS
the best of my knowledge this did not materialise.)
communicated the following regarding national tender
• The mapping and analysis of research data to make
projects that had been awarded:
recommendations on relevance and identified gaps (To the best of my knowledge, this did not materialise.)
• Development of an HIV policy framework for the sector with support to institutions in developing/refining institutional policies and implementation plans (R4.5 million)
• Good practice: HIV prevention strategies for HEIs in South Africa • A survey investigating the competency of graduates in relation to HIV in the workplace.16
• Design and development of a workplace programme for institutional staff (R4.3 million)
By the end of 2010 the following HEAIDS reports (laid out
• Development of funding models to ensure sustained intervention (R3 million) • Exploration and establishment of the roles of educators (including academic staff) in mitigating the impact of HIV (R3.2 million)
in the original communication about HEAIDS national
Institutions were pleased about having individual grants because they could
endeavours in 2008) were available:
• A report on the roles of educators (in-
rank their priorities best.
• Piloting of an HIV module at 23 teacher education faculties (R11.3 million) • Undertaking a sero-prevalence research study, KAPB and risk assessment of the higher-education sector (R26 million).
15
cluding academic staff and school teachers) in mitigating the impact of HIV
• The results of the sero-prevalence research study, KAPB and risk assessment of the HE sector • The development of an HIV policy and monitoring and evaluation framework for the sector • A sector HIV/AIDS needs/gap report (as to how the institutional policy differed from the national policy
The same communication stated that HEAIDS had “further successfully contracted the following areas of work”:
and framework) • The design of a workplace programme for institutional staff
• A sector HIV/AIDS needs/gap synthesis report •
The development of a standardised research data
• The development of funding models to ensure sustained intervention
tool for use by researchers at institutions to collect and
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• The piloting of an HIV module at 23 teacher education
how well the principles of “flexibility and appropriateness”18 were adhered to.
faculties • A survey investigating the competency of graduates in relation to HIV in the workplace
Similar comments could be made about the project for
• Good practice: HIV prevention strategies for HEIs in
developing a workplace document which also cost several millions of rands. It was not clear that what work-
South Africa.17
places lacked was a plan. If an analysis had been underAs part of this process, at the end of 2008, a national
taken at each institution and funding used to specifically
policy framework was developed under the direction of
overcome the barriers identified at particular institutions,
HEIADS. In addition, each institution received an individual
such an intervention may have been more useful.
institution needs/gap synthesis report, but only in so far as this pertained to individual institutional policies’ departure from the national framework with regard to policy, strategic plan, and monitoring and evaluation plans. With the 2004 audit having demonstrated that most higher education institutions already had a general HIV/
A useful endeavour may have been a survey regarding barriers to implementation of institutional policies within specific areas and specific problem solving around those barriers per institution.
In 2010, my staff and I conducted a rapid appraisal of higher education institutions’ use of national EU HEAIDS documents. There are obvious limitations to using this method since there may have been bias in the responses of institutional officers (IOs). Of the IOs who responded many had
AIDS policy, it is debatable whether it was necessary to
not used the policy framework or gap analyses given to
spend approximately R4.5 million on the development of
them. One participant articulated a general sentiment
an HIV policy framework for institutions to refine insti-
when she said that because of awarding national tenders
tutional policies and implementation plans. As mentioned,
to people who did not work in higher education and HIV
a useful endeavour may have been a survey regarding
and AIDS, a significant portion of time was spent by IOs in
barriers to implementation of institutional policies within
giving those awarded the tenders information that some
specific areas and specific problem solving around those
HEIs had been working on for years, and then correcting
barriers per institution. Institutions were only sent their
incorrect information in draft reports. This meant that
own gap analyses and it was impossible to assess overall
IOs did not have the time or inclination to re-read final
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reports and to implement recommendations. Feedback
geographically not far from each other were unable to
was given that some of the report’s recommendations were
share data, nor to work out why there were differences
out of touch (e.g. in terms of recommendations that
between their sero-prevalence.
curriculum interventions should be funded by roughly R14 million per institution when some institutions were
What was positive about the national sero-prevalence
looking for national support of the view that HIV/AIDS
survey report was that a number of recommendations
curriculum integration should be taking place within
were made which broke down HIV/AIDS areas and articu-
roughly existing curriculum budgets).
lated them in sufficiently complex ways that suggested solutions. The report stated that the epidemic was hetero-
A comment made was that one report was written by an
geneous within and between institutions, so that no-one-
individual whose first language was not English. The IO was
size-fits-all solution could be crafted nationally. It pointed
asked to comment on the report content, but felt that he could not do so without first correcting the English, so he felt the report was not ultimately useful. Frustration was also reported with the gap analysis that articulated institutional policy goals on paper
It articulated that there was insufficient proof that large-scale testing drives affected HIV prevention.
out high-risk behaviour groups required targeting even within low prevalence institutions (such as men who have sex with men) and that education and communication needed to segment the audience.
without a sophisticated unpacking of the barriers to differ-
It articulated that there was insufficient proof that large-
ent HIV/AIDS implementation areas. Institutions raised
scale testing drives affected HIV prevention. Hence HIV
concerns around the implementation of the methodology
testing drives could not be the sole HIV prevention strate-
of the sero-prevalence survey by sub-contracted teams.
gy, even if relevant at country level. Testing drives were particularly not useful in low prevalence settings, although
In 2010 each higher education institution received an HIV
obviously more useful in high prevalence settings if fol-
sero-prevalence report which was not made available
lowed up by immediate treatment. The concern was
publicly (although a national report was made publicly
expressed that students might test and re-test while not
available). It was left up to each institution to make pub-
using condoms. (Just over half of students reported con-
licly available its own sero-prevalence data. This repre-
sistent condom use.) The report emphasised that what
sented a lost opportunity because institutions situated
was needed was not only treating HIV as a health issue
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but also having a sharp focus on contextual issues such as
made between 1999 and 2012. It is not clear if institutions
poverty, diversity management, gender issues and HIV
have the resources and political will to implement their
stigma. The report demonstrated that the highest levels
policies so that they are aligned to the NSP.
of HIV infection were among administrative staff in the lowest pay classes at HEIs, and that there was an urgent
Critical steps forward would be articulating why HIV poli-
need for workplace programmes.
cies are or are not being implemented as effectively as possible in different areas such as the curriculum (and within
There has been no national funding available to HEIs to
different departments within different faculties), defining
implement these findings since the EU funding phase
the role of workplace programmes, conducting research
ended, even though the findings made considerable de-
into prevention behaviour among students, and establish-
mands of institutions.
ing social responsiveness programmes with communities
In 2011 and 2012, HEAIDS partnered with the Independent Medicines Board of South Africa (IMBSA), which funded mass HIV testing drives at most campuses. At the time of writing this, HEAIDS is due to
If HEAIDS programmes are to be improved, it is important that higher education institutions are able develop in these directions.
release an updated policy framework at the end of 2012
in an institution-specific, sophisticated way. If HEAIDS programmes are to be improved, it is important that higher education institutions are able to develop in these directions. We need to ask the correct questions and seek to answer
them meaningfully.
aligned to the South African National Strategic Plan (NSP). It is critical for HEIs to align with the NSP and HEI partici-
We hope that this collection of essays takes this process
pation in the NSP is welcomed. However, if institutions
somewhat further.
have not sufficiently engaged with how to break down the concepts of the NSP into programmes (e.g. engaging with gender) or do not have the resources to implement pro-
NOTES
grammes that engage with the concepts, updating it to include alignment with the NSP may still not achieve
1 The Social, Demographic and Development Impact of
measurable programme goals in different HIV/AIDS areas
AIDS: Commonwealth universities respond. Summary
at higher education institutions, and that reflect progress
documents. (1999). 2.
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2 Saint, W. (2004). Crafting Institutional responses to HIV/
12 SAUVCA HEAIDS. (2005). Turning the Tide: A strategic
AIDS: Guidelines and resources for tertiary insti-
response to HIV and AIDS in South African higher
tutions in sub-Saharan Africa. Africa Region Human
education, 27.
Development Sector World Bank Working Paper Series, 4. 3 Crewe, M. (2000). A University Response to HIV/AIDS. AIDS Analysis Africa, 10(5): 11-12. 4 Katjavivi, P. & Otaala, B. (2003). African higher education institutions responding to the HIV/AIDS pandemic: Power Point presentation made to the AAU Conference of Rectors, Vice Chancellors and Presidents of African Universities (COREVIP), Mauritius, March 17-21.
13 HEAIDS. (2004). HIV and AIDS Audit: Interventions in South African higher education, iv. 14 Ibid, iv-xv. 15 HEAIDS. (2008). Circular to all VCs No: 3/2008. Reference: 16/1-3/2008. 22 January. 16 HEAIDS. (2008). Circular to all VCs No: 3/2008. Reference: 16/1-3/2008. 22 January. 17 HEAIDS. (2008). Circular to all VCs No: 3/2008. Reference: 16/1-3/2008. 22 January.
5 Ibid.
18 SAUVCA HEAIDS. (2005). Turning the Tide: A strategic
6 Ibid.
response to HIV and AIDS in South African higher
7 SAUVCA (2000) Institutionalizing the Response to HIV/
education, 27.
AIDS in the South African University Sector: A SAUVCA analysis. 8 Working Group on Higher Education (WGHE) of the
REFERENCES
Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) (2006). Higher Education Institutions in Africa
Crewe, M. (2000). A University Response to HIV/AIDS.
Responding to HIV/AIDS, 36.
AIDS Analysis Africa, 10(5): 11-12.
9 SAUVCA HEAIDS. (2005). Turning the Tide: A strategic response to HIV and AIDS in South African higher
HEAIDS. (2008). Circular to all VCs No: 3/2008.
education, 21-31.
Reference: 16/1-3/2008. 22 January; SAUVCA HEAIDS.
10 Ibid.
(2005). Turning the Tide: A strategic response to HIV
11 Available at: www.hesa.org.za/heaids
and AIDS in South African higher education.
|25|
HEAIDS. (2004). HIV and AIDS audit: Interventions in South African higher education.
Katjavivi, P. & Otaala, B. (2003). African higher education institutions responding to the HIV/AIDS pandemic: PowerPoint presentation made to the AAU Conference of Rectors, Vice Chancellors and Presidents of African Universities (COREVIP), Mauritius, March 17-21.
Kelley, M.J. (2002). An education coalition against HIV/ AIDS. Paper presented at the National Conference on HIV/AIDS and the Education Sector. Lusaka: University of Zambia.
Kelley, M.J. (2001). Challenging the Challenger: Understanding and expanding the responses of universities in Africa to HIV/AIDS. Working Group on Higher Education, Association for the Development of Education in Africa, March.
Summary documents. (1999). The Social, Demographic and Development Impact of AIDS: Commonwealth universities respond. 8-9 November.
Working Group on Higher Education (WGHE) of the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA). (2006). Higher Education Institutions in Africa Responding to HIV/AIDS.
|26|
LEFT: Herman Wald, The unknown miner, c 1958, cast 2011. Bronze. Collection of University of Witwatersrand. Photo: Sally Gaule.
RIGHT: Neels Coetzee, Skull series, 1986. Bronze. Collection of University of Cape Town. Photo: Katherine Traut.
|27|
Gavin Younge, From Hoerikwagga, 1984. Steel, zinc and enamel paint. Collection of University of Cape Town. Photo: Katherine Traut.
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Hypocrisy, HIV and higher education: An ‘institutional integrity’ hypothesis Pierre Brouard
INTRODUCTION
and informal centres through which school children and out-of-school youth could be engaged for spiritual growth
As HIV peaks in South Africa, calls continue for moral
and development by means of practical programmes.
regeneration as a core response to social challenges in
These could include spiritual music, indigenous games,
general, and to our HIV epidemics in particular.
cultural and other creative activities”.
On 23 February 2011, sixteen women from several Cape
South Africa has a Moral Regeneration Movement (MRM),
Town townships were reported to have presented at the
which had its roots in a meeting between former president
office of the chief whip of the African National Congress
Nelson Mandela and religious leaders in 1997. The current
(ANC) in Parliament, Dr Mathole Motshekga, to appeal for
South African president, Jacob Zuma, drove the MRM’s
the intercession and intervention of the ANC in the deep-
establishment from 2002/3. The movement set up struc-
ening ‘moral degeneration’ in the townships of Cape
tures in all nine provinces, initially focused on marketing
Town.1 The women referred specifically to reports of chil-
and awareness strategies. It then began to promote “posi-
dren taking drugs and visiting shebeens and taverns.
tive values and keep audits of moral regeneration pro-
Writing in ANC Today in March 2011, Dr Motshekga, per-
grammes”.3 In 2008 there was a focus on the adoption of
haps partly at least in response to these concerned mothers,
the Charter of Positive Values, together with community
said, “There is an urgent and great need to occupy chil-
dialogue, endorsements of its work, and marketing.
2
dren and the youth after school and over the weekends through establishment of cultural centres in townships
|29|
Writing in Business Report in March 2010, Nawaal Dreyer
mature citizens, these societal institutions should work
noted that the MRM had almost nothing to show for the
together for the provision of moral education”.5
R22 million that government had spent on it. Dreyer wrote “Parliament’s Arts and Culture portfolio committee heard
A Bill of Responsibilities for the Youth of South Africa was
on Wednesday that in the body’s seven years of existence,
launched by the Department of Education in 2011. The
its books had never been audited and that even the
Bill exhorts young people to respect a range of rights in
Department of Arts and Culture – which is meant to over-
South Africa. Notable for its absence in the call for young
see the initiative – is not sure what impact it has had on
people to respect the right to equality is any mention of
moral issues in South Africa.”4
sexual orientation. And Lead SA, an initiative including The Star, Pretoria News, Radio 702 and Radio 94.7, states:
Clearly, asking the populace to become more moral is no simple, or cheap, matter. This has not prevented faith leaders, politicians, cultural guardians and educators from urging South Africans to become more moral – to address, among others, teenage pregnancy, multiple
“You can change the world. Lead SA is a personal call
Clearly, asking the populace to become more moral is no simple, or cheap, matter.
sexual partnering, drug and alcohol abuse, school truancy,
to every person to make a difference. You choose how. We all have a responsibility to make the world a better place. It could be as simple as smiling at a stranger or as big as fighting to further the rights entrenched in
our Constitution. Each act makes a difference.”6
HIV, gangsterism and sex work. While some of those making such pleas for greater public morality recognise
The calls for moral regeneration are predicated on the
the deeply historical, social and structural roots of these
idea that faced with the onslaught of messaging about
phenomena, most calls for a return to morality pose in-
decency, children, adolescents (and ultimately adults) will
culcation by parents, faith leaders, educators and role
do the right thing and choose, as rational individuals, to
models in values which are based on decency, faith, tradi-
become better persons.
tion, and indeed ubuntu, as the key vehicle for this return. In a review of ‘moral degeneration’ in South African
This essay argues that such approaches, while often
schools for example, Bayaga and Jaysveree assert that
well meaning, are flawed. It seeks to explain why these
“values need to be instilled in learners by parents, teachers,
approaches are defective. Finally, it proposes the con-
the state and the church … in order to produce morally
cept of social or institutional integrity as an alternative
|30|
approach – using HIV in the tertiary context to illustrate
As noted above, although non-discrimination on the basis
these ideas.
of sexual orientation is one of the rights entrenched in the South African Bill of Rights, it has been omitted from the suggested bill of responsibilities for young people.
WHY ARE THESE APPROACHES FLAWED?
The omission suggests that the morality of same-sex sexuality is contested, even though the South African
My first objection to the concept of moral regeneration
Constitution guarantees equality in terms of sexual orien-
is that morality as a concept is complex and contested.
tation. Sexual orientation clearly poses a problem for the
Morality speaks of a system of behaviour with regard to
bill’s authors.
standards of right or wrong. It is linked to notions of moral standards (of behaviour), moral responsibility (referring to conscience) and moral identity (being capable of right or wrong action).7 But agreement is lacking on what standards can be applied, how responsibility is measured and indeed how we develop, and can justify, our personal moral identities. Our history as a country
When the purveyors of messages on morality themselves do not stand up to close ethical scrutiny, cynicism and disbelief contribute to suspicion about the notion of morality.
When the purveyors of messages on morality themselves do not stand up to close ethical scrutiny, cynicism and disbelief contribute to suspicion about the notion of morality. When fundamentalist preachers are caught in the very secret homosexual acts they decry, and the Catholic Church finds itself accused of cover ups
is replete with anecdotes of the use of religious injunc-
about clergy engaged in paedophilia and abusive be-
tions to support apartheid, and beliefs in the different
haviour, it becomes clear that there is often a large gap
moral capacities of citizens. Morality has been used to
between thought and action.
justify slavery, racism, war, sexism, oppression of sexual minorities, honour killings, female genital mutilation and
In South Africa, it is ironic that the leading light in the
virginity testing. But whose morality is seen as correct?
MRM, President Zuma, has himself been in the spotlight
And which belief in a supreme being or beings is used
for his personal sexual conduct. While his polygamy finds
to justify morality (as such a belief is often regarded as
its roots in his traditional beliefs, protected under the
the primary basis for morality)?
Constitution, the conduct that was revealed in his trial for rape showed perhaps that morality is both deeply
|31|
personal and yet at the same time of public interest and
strategy not work – today there is tacit acceptance that
concern. The recent case of a politician, who had exhorted
one should work with and not against the affected – but
young people to abstain from sex and to be faithful, in
it contributed to stigma which easily and quickly attached
order to thwart HIV transmission, and yet was revealed to
itself to others (even to the ‘innocent’) and also to an on-
have been less than faithful to his wife in a public scandal,
going discourse and fantasy around lost or past morality
is instructive. As Minister Fikile Mbalula told a World AIDS
to which society should return.
Day gathering in December 2011, “Idle minds breed evil ideas. We want to keep the youth busy with sport so that
This leads me to my second objection to current moral
there is no time for these evil ideas.”8
approaches: that they are often based on notions of moral panic and anxiety which suggest that sexual abandon is
Furthermore, when calls are made for individuals to be moral (particularly moral regarding sexual conduct, criminality and community ills), in the face of the questionable morality of the state, when its institutions and its economic policies seem not to recognise vast and growing societal inequalities, amid
widespread and novel. HIV has particularly unleashed
Moral approaches are often based on notions of moral panic and anxiety which suggest that sexual abandon is widespread and novel.
concerns about corruption, political infighting and per-
such moral panics – and attempts to control human sexuality (and therefore HIV, given that most HIV transmission occurs through sex). Moral crusades and appeals to our values have dominated, or certainly co-existed with other, more
public-health, approaches.
sonal enrichment, then questions need to be asked about the morality of our various social institutions. More of this
One classic example, which is really an example of morality
later, when I address the question of institutional integrity.
cloaked in public-health rhetoric, is that of abstinence-only sexual health and HIV programmes for young people.
Of course, the history of the HIV epidemic is one which
Many of these were funded by the PEPFAR fund of United
tells a story of how the first affected groups, which were
States President George Bush, which prohibited any HIV
deemed less than moral in their behaviour (gay men, men
prevention programmes for young people other than
who have sex with men, sex workers and intravenous drug
abstinence-only programmes, and did not support any
users), were easily blamed for their infection, marginalised,
work which was linked to termination of pregnancy. This
and excluded from prevention and care. Not only did this
far-reaching funding regimen probably put millions of
|32|
young people at risk for HIV and many young women
hegemonic or dominant masculinity and the recognition
at risk for unwanted pregnancy. One report released in
of alternative masculinities (and femininities); a critique
2009 by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in the United
of gender roles; the recognition of the rights of people
States found that teenage pregnancies and the incidence
who are transgendered or intersexed; the recognition of
of syphilis among a generation of American school girls who
female desire and agency in sexual matters; a reclaiming
were urged to avoid sex before marriage had risen sharply.
of pleasure in HIV campaigns, challenging fear-based strategies; a new identity politics where there has emerged
The CDC said that southern states in the US, where there
a tension between identity and practice, as exemplified
was often the greatest emphasis on sexual abstinence and
in the label MSM (men who have sex with men); the view
religion, tended to have the highest rates of teenage
that identities over a lifetime (man, woman, heterosexual,
pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. However, as
homosexual, African) might be fluid, changing and context
scientific analyses of the official policies
Uncertainty, the rise of moral
came to be published, this policy he-
relativism and sweeping socio-
gemony was challenged. Not only were
political changes in the 20th and
young people put at risk by the absti-
21st centuries have induced fear
nence policy, but as Schalet has noted,
and contributed to moral panics.
the abstinence-only-until-marriage para-
driven; an explosion of technology-driven sexual possibilities; sexual activism regarding sex work and other sexual cultures; and clashes between tradition and modernity.
digm, along with the sex-as-risk paradigm, “give us only
Is it surprising that in the light of these unsettling develop-
limited tools to conceptualise and promote positive
ments, many guardians of religion, culture and the status
adolescent sexual development and relationships.”
quo have argued for a return to traditional morality?
Uncertainty, the rise of moral relativism and sweeping
As a third objection to morality-based approaches, I would
socio-political changes in the 20 and 21 centuries have
argue that not only do the developments listed above
induced fear and contributed to moral panics. Some of
provoke anxiety about change, but they also reflect our
these challenges and changes include the rise of gay and
discomfort with human sexuality, informed by a distor-
lesbian rights (including in South Africa the right of gay
tion or dismissal of science and a disregard for history and
men and lesbians to marriage and adoption); challenges
its insights.
9
th
st
to heteronormativity; discourses around alternatives to
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Bonita Alice, Standing female nude and Standing male figure, 1988. Cement fondue and oil paint. UNISA Art Collection. Photos: Izelle Jacobs.
|34|
In looking back at how sexuality was framed and managed
McLaren concludes his review of the last century by sug-
in the 20th century, McLaren10 suggests four narratives
gesting that our belief that sex has now become a private
which challenge common views that modern sexuality
matter between consenting adults of different back-
is unbridled and unique. Firstly, human sexuality is both
grounds, persuasions or gender variations is a myth. In fact,
constant and changing, and concerns about moral decline
he says, “sex was not a natural act. It was shaped and
have marked each successive generation of the 20th cen-
regulated. Stories played a key role in constructing sexual-
tury. Secondly, certainties about gender roles are under-
ity in the 20th century and one can be confident that in
mined by the fact that in more western societies, there
the 21st century, Western culture will still not have finished
has been an erosion of class and gender differences. As
with accounts of its panics and pleasures”.11
one commentator noted: “The enormous class differentials that once set off the marriage, fertility and mortality patterns of the upper and middle classes, had been gradually diminished.” Thirdly, the unprecedented advance (albeit contested) in the rights of gay and lesbian people, and those with discordant gender identities or alternative gender presenta-
Implied in McLaren’s review is the notion of social and
Human sexuality is both constant and changing, and concerns about moral decline have marked each successive generation of the 20th century.
medical science as a source of new and renewed insights into human sexual conduct, where moral gatekeepers are willing to engage with such science. So Klein,12 for example, has reflected recently how science has exposed a number of myths
tions has created both freedom and resistance, shining a
regarding sexuality which persist. These include myths
light on identity-practice splits, on western versus African
about the dangers of pornography, sex clubs, sexuality
perspectives in understanding human sexuality, and, im-
education for the young and sexual predators on the
portantly, on the idea that sexuality does not occur in a
Internet, and their alleged implications for moral decline.
vacuum, but is shaped by social, cultural, economic and
While research does not support the view that these
political contexts. And fourthly the separation of sex and
phenomena contribute to social and moral decay, and
procreation has led to an emphasis on sexual pleasure as
shows that fears about the phenomena are exaggerated,
a legitimate goal in itself. The mental health benefits of
the view of moral decline persists.
sexual pleasure have been increasingly stressed and indeed a lack of sex, or an absence of sexual desire, is now
An explanation for such moral panic is to suggest, as my
regarded increasingly as unusual and unhealthy.
fourth objection to morality-based approaches, that not
|35|
only are we are uncomfortable with sexuality, but we
South Africa is no exception. In April 2012 the Teddy
are uncomfortable with the sexuality of young people,
Bear Clinic and Resources Aimed at the Prevention of Child
especially adolescents and students in tertiary contexts.
Abuse and Neglect (RAPCAN) applied in the North Gau-
And what is our response? Curtailment, promotion of
teng High Court to declare certain sections of the Sexual
abstinence and fidelity, and withholding of sexual in-
Offences Act of 2007, which deals with consensual sex
formation from the young – in other words, regulation.
(statutory rape) and acts of consensual violation (statutory
The emerging sexuality of young people has always vexed
sexual violation) between children aged 12 to 16 years un-
adults, despite the fact that we know most young people
constitutional.15 The non-profit organisations, supported
begin to experiment sexually in their teenage years,14 in
by the Centre for Child Law at the University of Pretoria,
spite of moral and other injunctions not to do so.
challenged the sections of the Act related to reporting
13
A review of the literature of anthropology, sociology and cultural studies will show that in most societies, young people experiment with sex in contradiction of the expressed moral codes of their parents, their parents have themselves previously broken the same moral codes and those
Most societies have developed elaborate and coded ways of talking about sex and sexuality as attempts to protect dignity, avoid embarrassment and limit sexual practice.
sexual activities between teenagers and the registration of children’s names on the National Sex Offenders Register if convicted of statutory rape. The Act criminalises consensual sex between children aged 12 to 16 years, and even criminalises activities such as kissing. Any person such as a teacher or counsellor, who does not report such
very same young people have become parents who at-
activities to the police, can be sentenced to prison. The non-
tempted to limit their own children to the moral codes they
profit organisations maintained that the Act could have
themselves did not then, and do not now, honour. And
serious consequences for children, such as denying children
most societies have developed elaborate and coded ways
access to support and health care services when needed
of talking about sex and sexuality as attempts to protect
and humiliating them by exposing them to the criminal
dignity, avoid embarrassment and limit sexual practice.
justice system and the risk of having their names listed in
They have also tried to use the law to limit sexual ex-
the Sex Offenders’ Register. The organisations believed
pression.
that rather than criminalising sexual behaviour a less harmful route should be followed by engaging children at a level of dialogue they could understand about
|36|
appropriate sexual expression, and increasing the range
My fifth objection to morality-informed approaches to
of sexual education available to them.
HIV and sexuality is that they are based on an individualistic approach to human conduct, especially sexual conduct.
has proposed a new alphabet for a positive
For too long our HIV prevention efforts have been indi-
approach to adolescent sexuality, ABCD. The A refers to
vidualistic and rational in approach, exemplified by the
building autonomy in young people through teaching
ABC campaign. Prevention has been predicated on the
them skills and helping them understand pleasure and
idea that if we appeal to an individual’s intellect, logical
desire, as well as boundaries. The B suggests we should
thinking and good intentions, then they will ‘do the right
help young people build good romantic relationships
thing’, i.e. be moral.
Schalet
16
based on mutuality, trust and equality. The C recommends that healthy connections between young people and their parents/caregivers are protective, and the D recognises not only that young people are diverse, but also that the disparities in socio-economic conditions and access to resources need to be addressed in order to empower young people.
In fact we now believe that a web of social and structural
Morality-informed approaches to HIV and sexuality are based on an individualistic approach to human conduct, especially sexual conduct.
factors interacts in complex ways with an individual’s needs, motivations, skills, knowledge and intentions to affect the sexual and other choices that an individual makes. Social factors might be the norms, values, beliefs, attitudes and expectations
of our social milieu which we unconsciously internalise Notwithstanding more progressive approaches, the one
as we grow up and become social actors. Structural factors
constant about human sexuality is that sexual practice
would include access to services; the strength of health
has always been varied, it has always been unsuccessfully
and other systems; legal and policy frameworks which set
regulated, it has been understood and shaped by prevail-
out the responsibilities of the state and other actors; access
ing norms and contexts and, when it strays from the norm,
to education, housing, transport and employment; and
it has always incurred the judgment and wrath of those in
economic policies which include or exclude citizens from
power, whether politicians, prelates, public health experts
reasonable access to economic independence. All of these
or parents.
– sometimes called social drivers – work together to make it more or less possible for an individual or a couple to practise safer sex. We have been, for too long, obsessed with
|37|
sex as behaviour (the physical acts we do and the mechanics
moralising about individual conduct. But if we accept that
of protection attached to them) rather than focusing on
individual behaviour is profoundly influenced by the social
sex as practice – the sum of the meanings two individuals
and structural milieu, would our institutions stand up to
bring to their encounter or encounters, in a social context.
the same scrutiny? Is there honesty, sincerity, fairness, ethics, reliability and justice in government, in the corporate world,
A sixth objection to morality-informed approaches is that
in our religious institutions, in our media, and in schools
by focusing on individual morality, we ignore hypocrisy and
and universities?
the lack of integrity in society in general, but in tertiary institutions in particular. So when tertiary institutions fail to transform in terms of race, language and access to
SO WHAT ARE THE SPECIAL CHALLENGES
power; do not address gender inequalities and run along
FACED BY YOUNG PEOPLE AT UNIVERSITIES?
unquestioned patriarchal fault lines; become sites of nepotism, greed and empire building; perpetuate practices in residences which feed into sexual and gender stereotypes; ignore the needs of communities from which they
We ignore hypocrisy and the lack of integrity in society in general, but in tertiary institutions
draw their students and on which students
in particular.
Many students are in late adolescence and early adulthood and this may be accompanied by physical, emotional, cognitive and spiritual changes which can be overwhelming. This is a time when young people ex-
practise their emerging skills; and fail to grapple with the
periment with sexual practices and identities – in some
social challenges in the broader society, then it can be ar-
cases this experimentation has already started as students
gued that their appeals to individual (sexual) morality are
bring with them ideas and practices from their social milieu.
a diversionary tactic and represent an ethical failure.
Evidence from formal and informal surveys and work done at campus health services suggests that unprotected sex
I would argue that the concept of integrity has been most
is widespread.17
forcefully applied to individuals. The history of the HIV epidemic reveals to us just how frail we are – silences, secrecies,
Many students report that their conservative beliefs, and
infidelities, temptations, indiscretions are often unveiled
those of their parents and of their institutions, prevent
in the light of an HIV diagnosis. One of the consequences
them from finding out about sex and sexuality, leaving
of this is that we have easily slipped into blaming and
them vulnerable when they are in sexual contexts. For
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many students university life provides their first taste of
to have sex, and to have unprotected sex. Most do not
freedom and independence and they cannot always cope
know how to resist these pressures. This is not to deny
with this new-found liberation. Alcohol and drugs are used
that female agency and desire are absent, but simply to
by students for recreation and to cope with the stresses
state that gender norms and fault lines are deeply en-
and strains of life – in some cases this leads to binge drink-
trenched.
ing. There are reports that some women students face peer pressure to drink – date rape (both alcohol- and drug-
Students are often linked to a wide range of sexual net-
related) is a possible consequence.
works, which may overlap with university and community networks, and which could have varying levels of HIV
Students often display a sense of invulnerability and om-
prevalence. It is known that sex with multiple, concurrent
nipotence, focussing more on future dreams than on pre-
partners (where there is unprotected sex) increase a per-
sent risks. This is compounded, certainly in the more privileged universities, by the belief that because tertiary students are the ‘cream of the crop’, they will not contract HIV, since HIV infection is seen as a disease of poverty, poor education and limited
Students often display a sense of invulnerability and omnipotence, focussing more on future dreams than on present risks.
son’s risk of contracting HIV.
Same sex practice and identity is widely ignored in the tertiary sector. Institutions often struggle to recognise and support student-led lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgen-
access to resources. There is a need, especially for those
dered and intersex (LGBTI) organisations, leaving young
from more humble backgrounds, to fit into a sophisticat-
LGBTI people without resources and information.
ed, brand-conscious culture, and find ready cash to spend. Most young people are financially dependent on others
Residences are often deeply hierarchical. They may per-
and some students struggle financially.
petuate conservative views on sex, sexuality and sexual identity. They may also buttress patriarchal notions of gen-
Some women students may be involved in transactional
der. In addition, they may value conformity over challenge
relationships with older men who buttress their financial
– perpetuating a culture of obedience and subordination
position. These may place women in a position of negotiat-
to higher authority, rather than developing agency and
ing disadvantage – and even in relationships with peers,
adaptive life-skills.
many female students report pressure from male partners
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Gavin Younge, Life cycle, 2004. Stainless steel. Collection of Rhodes University. Photo: Sara Garrun.
|40|
At some of the less transformed universities, black students
areas which are not always safe, making them vulner-
report widely that there is racism on campuses and in resi-
able to assault and rape; and many stay in overcrowded
dences – and some white students express concerns about
apartments where there may be sex in communal spaces,
the loss of language and culture. These issues suggest
or forced/coerced sex.
that diversity and difference are not being well handled. Students living with HIV may not be sure how fellow students, academics and support staff will cope with HIV dis-
WHAT CAN THE CONCEPT OF INSTITUTIONAL INTEGRITY OFFER?
closure. Some universities do not seem to have a thoughtful, conscious and comprehensive strategy to deal with
This essay argues that rather than focus on the personal
issues of race, difference and integration, and even where
morality of students, inviting them to choose rationally to
there are policies they are subject to criticism from all
act in accordance with what is assumed to be a shared
quarters.
Some students report that because there is considerable prestige attached to being a university student they face overwhelming external and internal pressures to succeed
Students living with HIV may not be sure how fellow students, academics and support staff will cope with HIV disclosure.
and thrive, and to deny vulnerability – leaving them vul-
moral code, universities should revisit their institutional ethos and practice, so that they acknowledge and respond to the realities of student, staff and community contexts and create an institutional culture which has integrity and which models values to
which all can aspire.
nerable to stress and unable to say they are not coping. Many students also do not know where to go for help.
Of course, society as a whole should aspire to integrity
Some students struggle to make the academic transition
but universities, as mirrors of the broader society, and as
from school to university, even when they have done well
places of ideas, practices and norm building, should them-
at school, and they experience stress as a result of this
selves exhibit particular integrity.
difficult shift. Integrity18 comes from the Greek word integra, meaning Where students, especially black students, have difficulty
whole. Integrity could be said to be a guiding principle,
in finding accommodation, there are at least two pos-
affecting all aspect of one’s life. At the individual level, it has
sible consequences: many are forced to live in inner city
been described as part of one’s belief system – influencing
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what one does without faltering, no matter how risky
Oregon State University defines its institutional integrity
the decision, no matter how unpopular the decision makes
as one in which “The University accurately represents it-
the person appear to others. It could include sincerity,
self to students, staff, and faculty, and externally to govern-
keeping one’s word and agreements, honesty, truthfulness,
ment and regulatory agencies, accrediting bodies, and
a sense of ethics, fairness and justice.
the public”.20 Its commitment to integrity is reflected in its mission statement which cites truth, accountability and
Universities have long grappled with this concept. Iowa
responsibility as essential values. And it measures and main-
State University in the US, for example, has this to say: “The
tains this integrity through an organisational framework
overall reputation of the institution is of critical impor-
which guides, among others, ethical standards, conflicts of
tance to Iowa State University leaders. Faithful pursuit of
interest, academic freedom and public communication.21
the institutional mission, compliance with local, state, and federal laws and regulations, and responsiveness to the needs of students, faculty, staff, and other constituents are top priorities of the administration. Academic administrators work closely with faculty to maintain and enhance academic quality
At the individual level, integrity has been described as part of one’s belief system – influencing what one does without faltering, no matter how risky the decision, no matter how unpopular the decision makes the person appear to others.
And Mott Community College in the US, in its Institutional Integrity Subcommittee Report, 22 focuses on six general categories of internal practices and relationships (college communication, policies and procedures, internal conflict resolution, diversity, college
while seeking to embrace best practices in institutional
finances and governance) and six external practices and
policies and procedures, acutely aware of their respon-
relationships (legal authorisation to grant degrees, public
sibility to the public. University personnel administer cur-
information, hiring procedures and practices, student ser-
ricular and co-curricular programs, including extension
vices and financial aid, relationships with other institutions
and auxiliary activities, [which aim to be] in the best inter-
and organisations, and college athletics) as measures of
est of the constituencies that they serve … Iowa State
its integrity.
upholds and protects its integrity while always looking for areas to improve overall institutional effectiveness.”19
These are valuable and interesting examples of how tertiary institutions grapple with the concept of integrity. Perhaps the most useful approach, which offers a broader
|42|
model against which these practices can be reviewed, is
define moral boundaries and may include policing or
offered by Grebe and Woermann23 in a paper which ex-
auditing agencies and oversight mechanisms (where or-
plores a conceptual framework for thinking about integrity
ganisations are concerned) and, by extrapolation, faith,
in developmental contexts, not only at the level of indi-
cultural and other moral guidance institutions which at-
vidual behaviour but also at the level of institutions which
tempt to provide a moral or ethical framework, where
embody social norms.
individuals are concerned.
Their key insight, they suggest, is that in thinking about
But all this comes to naught, they argue, if institutions,
“ethical leadership and developmental integrity, it is im-
including institutions of integrity, do not themselves func-
portant not to simply focus on codes of conduct, individual
tion in a way which has integrity. An institution has integ-
behaviour and enforcement mechanisms … rather, ethical
rity, it is suggested, if it is robust and legitimate and fit
leadership and developmental integrity in practice is a function of the more complex interaction of individual integrity, the institutions of integrity and the integrity of institutions.”
24
There needs to be internal consistency in an institution’s functioning, and external consistency in its relationships with the world around it.
for its purpose.
All three aspects work together to reflect the complex interplay of factors which produce and support integrity. Possible indicators could be: the appropriate mobi-
They talk of individual integrity as the traditional under-
lisation of people and resources for common and agreed-
standing of integrity in terms of honesty, appropriate be-
upon goals; institutional stewardship which fosters appro-
haviour (doing the right thing), and consistency between
priate individual and institutional behaviours; and con-
words and actions. Individual agency does matter, even if
gruence, as measured by appropriate and agreed-upon
it is constrained by social and structural forces and even
rules which govern institutional culture and the acting
though it may be informed by conflicting ideas of what the
out and respect of these rules by individuals and the
‘right thing’ is.
organisation. So there needs to be internal consistency in an institution’s functioning, and external consistency
But individual integrity, Grebe and Woermann argue, is
in its relationships with the world around it, based on
shaped and ‘bound’ by institutions of integrity (through
agreed values which benefit all, managed by a system
formal and informal codes of behaviour) – such institutions
which is fair and reflexive.
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In the context of HIV, in tertiary institutions, this princi-
• Is there integrity when there is evidence that open sex
ple goes beyond HIV/AIDS policies and programmes,
education and a positive-sexuality approach makes a
and adopting values of non-discrimination towards in-
difference, and yet we ignore this and use coded lan-
fected and affected staff. Rather, it suggests that the
guage and moralistic approaches?
total institution itself needs to have integrity and to
• Is there integrity when we promote one form of moral-
operate in ways which not only acknowledge and act
ity over another – and offer mixed messages about our
on risks to staff and students, but also to operationalise
own moralities?
values which promote fairness, equity and opportunity for all, as a model of a good ‘institutional citizen’.
• Is there integrity when students engage in transactional sex and we ignore their needs – and do not address poverty, consumerism and inequality?
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR HIV IN A TERTIARY CONTEXT? To answer this question, I pose a number of questions – suggesting, if you like, a set of indicators – which ask us about institutional integrity and point to what I call ‘a
The total institution itself needs to have integrity and to operate in ways which not only acknowledge and act on risks to staff and students, but also to operationalise values.
• Is there integrity when we teach students about intergenerational sex, but ignore evidence that some lecturers may be having inappropriate sexual relationships with students? • Is there integrity when we refuse to offer sexually transmitted infection services at our institutions and yet we know they
whole institution approach’ to HIV and AIDS – one which
are an important aspect of sexual health?
addresses the needs of students and staff and explores
• Is there integrity when we know about complex sexual
whether this is an honest, fair and just place to work
networks but refuse to conduct research into them or
and study. These indicators could include the following:
to understand them? • Is there integrity when we deny LGBTI groups the op-
• Is there integrity when we promote abstinence ap-
portunity to meet and organise?
proaches to student sexualities (including refusing to
• Is there integrity when we know that students face
provide condoms in residences), when there is no evi-
problems with drugs and alcohol and yet we do not
dence that abstinence works?
address these problems? On the contrary, we may offer venues where students are able to drink alcohol at
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reduced prices, often with the collusion of corporates
• Is there integrity when we fail to develop a generation of academics and students who can offer intellectual,
which provide the alcohol? • Is there integrity when our institutions do not reflect
social and personal leadership on HIV and AIDS?
the rich diversity of role modelling for our students?
• And is there integrity when we fail to respond to the
• Is there integrity when gender equity is not openly dis-
needs of the broader society (and local communities)
cussed and addressed, and institutions are male domi-
through our teaching, research and outreach?
nated? • Is there integrity when we promote free thinking, creativity and autonomy, and yet residence students are
CONCLUSION
infantilised through initiation ceremonies, and sexual South Africa has had a divided and difficult past, and all
and gender stereotypes are not challenged? • Is there integrity when we fail to provide students with spaces to interrogate their identities? • Is there integrity when we promote individual approaches to sexual behaviour change, even though we know how social
Is there integrity when our institutions do not reflect the rich diversity of role modelling for our students?
and structural forces operate?
institutions, public and private, grapple with ways to overcome the past and to build a society which is fair, equitable and transparent to all its citizens. One response to the uncertainties of modern life, in the face of our past, is to return to a fantasy that a shared
older morality will provide a stabilising force. In the light
• Is there integrity when we offer primarily biomedical
of our deeply entrenched HIV epidemic, personal morality
interventions when we know that the social milieu is
regarding sexual conduct has come under the spotlight,
powerful, and we do not conduct research into the
and calls for individuals to make good and moral choices
medical and social drivers, and consequences, of HIV
have swelled into a chorus.
and AIDS? • Is there integrity when we fail to address discrimination, such as racism and HIV-related stigma?
The tertiary sector is no exception: many of the interventions around HIV are overly public health in their focus,
• Is there integrity when we fail to prepare students to be
informed by a poor understanding of the complexities
critical, involved leaders who interrogate democracy
of behaviour change, and reflect a subtle and insidious
and freedom and participate in debate and change?
moralism. Until these institutions come to terms with
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their past, and find ways to become ‘institutions of integrity’, where fairness, justice, opportunity and equity prevail, it is hypocritical to ask students and staff to be more moral. A re-examination of institutional integrity can provide a new lens through which the systems and structure of a university can provide an ethical enabling space for individuals to make better and more thoughtful choices.
10 McLaren, A. (1999). Twentieth-century Sexuality: A history. Blackwell Publishers. 11 McLaren, A. (1999). Twentieth-century Sexuality: A history. Blackwell Publishers. 223. 12 www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-marty-klein/want-toundermine-science_b_1464379.html 13 Szabo, C. (2009). Adolescent sexuality: Beyond controversy. Journal of Child and Adolescent Mental Health. 18:1 iii-iv.
NOTES
14 Massaut, S. (2004). Young and Sexual. An exploration of young people’s sexuality and their sexual devel-
1 Andile Ncontsa, writing on moral regeneration for an online publication called NGO Pulse at www.ngopulse. org/category/tags/moral-regeneration 2 ANC Today 11(8), 4-10 March 2011. 3 www.ngopulse.org/category/tags/moral-regeneration
opment. Youth Incentives. 15 www.citizen.co.za/citizen/content/en/citizen/localnews?oid=273885&sn=Detail&pid=800&Court-challenged-on-Sexual-Offences-Act16 Schalet, A.T. (2011). Beyond abstinence and risk: A new
4 Ibit.
paradigm for adolescent sexual health. Women’s Health
5 Bayaga, A & Jaysveree, L. (2011). Moral degeneration:
Issues 21-35, S5-S7.
Crisis in South African schools? Journal of Social Science, 28(3): 199-210.
17 See for example the KABP survey conducted by HEAIDS in the tertiary sector in 2008/9.
6 http://leadsa.co.za/
18 www.wiki.answers.com
7 www.allaboutphilosophy.org/morality.htm
19 www.public.iastate.edu/~accreditation/2-mission/140.
8 www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Minister-in-sexscandal-20111030 9 Schalet, A.T. (2011). Beyond abstinence and risk: A new
|46|
htm 20 http://oregonstate.edu/accreditation/self-study/9. 0InstitutionalIntegrity.pdf
paradigm for adolescent sexual health. Women’s Health
21 Ibid.
Issues 21-35, S5-S7.
22 http://edtech.mcc.edu/nca/Integrity.htm
23 Grebe, E. & Woermann, M. (2011). Institutions of integrity and the integrity of institutions: Integrity and ethics in the politics of developmental leadership. Research
Angus Taylor, UP centenary sculptures, 2008. Bronze and Belfast granite. Collection of University of Pretoria. Photo: EYEscape.
Paper 15. Developmental Leadership Program. 24 Ibid. 3.
|47|
Arend Eloff, Steenbok, 1991. Bronze. Collection of University of Pretoria. Photo: EYEscape.
|48|
Bland management Mary Crewe
The university should provide an ideal space in which to
It is astounding that South African universities have not
do HIV and AIDS work – for the university campus is in
embraced HIV and AIDS with greater passion and intellec-
the main a microcosm of the larger society, and deals
tual rigor. The epidemics and the social and medical issues
with similar kinds of issues. The university is confronted
that accompany them are an astonishing opportunity for
with poverty, racism, patriarchy, sexual relations, sexual
research, for teaching, for community engagement and
identities, and transactional and transgender sex. It is con-
for thinking about the future of the university institution
cerned with the education and the well-being of its staff
and of the country. HIV and AIDS, one of the most intrigu-
and students. The institution houses many of its students
ing phenomena of our time, should be the catalyst around
in small (often single-sex) hostels (or residences) rather akin
which much of the work in various university faculties is
to the accommodation provided by the mining houses
developed, for HIV and AIDS explains, highlights and
to their migrant workers. The university is confronted with
casts new light on so many of the problems of our time
drug use, alcohol use and abuse, and with myriad social,
– racism, gender, democracy, service delivery, and access to
personal, economic and political challenges experienced
information and care. The biological, medical and social
by staff and students and the communities from which
aspects of the epidemics invite us to take new perspec-
they are drawn.
tives on old issues; to create new understandings of poverty, inequality, exclusion, crime and abuse; and to envisage
One of the catastrophes that the university confronts is
new ways of ensuring the continuity of families and com-
the HIV and AIDS epidemics, which affect both institu-
munities.
tional culture and the ways in which university can be run. The epidemics affect the lives of staff and students
And yet, as Cal Volks points out, the tertiary sector has
and impact on the communities from which staff and
been slow to respond to the epidemics, perhaps because
students are drawn.
institutionalising HIV and AIDS as a university response is far more complex than merely offering HIV counselling
|49|
and testing services or establishing research programmes.
living with HIV and AIDS? Should this response be the
It involves turning around the university, so that we recog-
same (or different) to responses to staff or students with
nise the threat of HIV and AIDS both to the university
other life-threatening illnesses? So we can speak about
and to the society in which it is located, and that we re-
the university having an association of staff and students
spond in a holistic way. A meaningful response involves
with AIDS, but there are no associations for staff and
addressing the essence, culture and power of the insti-
students with cancer, TB or malaria – diseases in which
tution and challenging the relationship between the insti-
the death toll is also high, but which are seen as private
tution and the society.
health concerns. We talk about the importance of high-
1
level leadership and the creation of HICC committees. But In the past, many universities have been able to respond
we do not find the same urgency in addressing student
relatively effectively to social and political injustices. Some
alcohol or drug use – which in some institutions may be
South African universities have a rich history of opposition to apartheid and to the political repression of the previous regime. Yet such a history in and of itself no longer confers legitimacy on their current operation and practice.
Universities tend to see AIDS as a problem only if more than 10% of students
Likewise the credibility with the new regime
are infected.
equal cause for concern. Of necessity, AIDS is seen as being a public issue. Must we create a space for people to disclose? How can we create a space where it is safe for people to talk about sexualities in addition to being safe to disclose not only their HIV status but also sexu-
of some of the universities which were considered pillars
al practices and identities? Do universities need to have
of the previous dispensation should be cause for reflec-
HIV and AIDS programmes at all?
tion. It indicates how quickly institutions can transform themselves when social forces require it, but also how
Universities tend to see AIDS as a problem only if more
fickle the political imagination is. Success comes as much
than 10% of students are infected. This is not to deny the
from how an institution positions itself as it does from
personal, but perhaps the political, social and economic
any ideological identification or political rhetoric.
effects of the epidemics are of more immediate concern than the actual staff and students who are infected. In
In the first place universities have to address both the com-
the life of a university there are hard choices to be made,
plex issues of the individual versus the collective. What
and dealing with AIDS highlights many tough and difficult
should a university be doing about staff and students
choices about limited resources.
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Dealing with HIV and AIDS in the tertiary sector touches
but also relate to the ways in which graduates need to
at the heart of what the university is all about – its core
be positioned to succeed in a future rendered so uncertain
functions of exploration, critique and the creation of new
by the epidemic.
knowledge. It is imperative that we develop a response that allows university staff and young people to think
The question posed by Edward Said in 1994 in his Reith
critically about HIV and AIDS, and how they can be
Lectures – Representations of the Intellectuals – is an inter-
equipped to challenge all the taken-for-granted realities
esting one for the university to consider as it plans for AIDS
and the orthodoxies that surround these epidemics. HIV
work. Are intellectuals, he asked, a very large group or
and AIDS interventions in the tertiary sector need to be far
an extremely small clique? The Italian Marxist, Gramsci,
more than education, prevention and training or knowl-
believed that “all men are intellectuals; but that not all
edge, attitude, perception and behaviour (KAPB) surveys.
men in society have the function of intellectuals”, whereas
Indeed, they are far more than policies or programmes such as peer education or teaching about safer sex and responsible sexuality. Such interventions should also be about how race, class, gender and culture influ-
Dealing with HIV and AIDS in the tertiary sector touches at the heart of what the university is all about – its core functions of exploration, critique and the creation of new knowledge.
Julien Benda defined intellectuals as a tiny band of super gifted and morally endowed philosopher kings who constituted the conscience of humankind.
ence democracy, accountability, citizenship and identity,
Is it possible to create public intellectuals among university
and how these shape both the epidemics and our respons-
staff and students who are able to think, debate and write
es to them.
about HIV and AIDS in new theoretically informed and compelling ways?
What should compel the university is the challenge of how it could become a critical space where HIV and AIDS are
The role of an HIV and AIDS programme at a tertiary insti-
a component of the intellectual activities of the institu-
tution is to develop intellectuals among staff and students
tion, a dimension of the planning and function of the
to become fascinated at a metaphysical level by HIV and
institution, and involved in the creation of new social
AIDS: fascinated about how it has shaped and will shape
understandings and explanations. Such new understand-
their colleagues, their peers and their mentors, and how
ings would not be just about infusion into the curricula
it is increasingly shaping the students who attend the
|51|
institution. Whilst HIV and AIDS are still generally regard-
cosy agreement, from endorsing dogma and orthodoxy
ed in the first place as a medical issue, even the medical
in a way that makes it seem as if we have forgotten that
response cannot be effectively divorced from the intel-
the previous regime demanded exactly the same kind of
lectual activity of debate, dissent and curiosity.
endorsement of dogma.
In Said’s view, the intellectual is an individual endowed
We need to generate a critical response from staff and
with a faculty for representing, embodying, articulating
students – they need to develop the skills to ask difficult
a message, a view, an attitude, philosophy or opinion to
questions and to challenge pervading orthodoxies. There
– as well as for – a public. And, Said says, this role has an
are many students whose intellect and curiosity is remark-
edge to it, and it cannot be played out without a sense
able and who relish the idea of thinking about HIV and
of being someone whose purpose it is to raise publicly
AIDS in new ways, using the ideas of different thinkers,
embarrassing questions, to confront orthodoxy and dogma (rather than to produce them), to not be easily co-opted by governments, corporations or other power groups. He suggests that the intellectual’s reason for being is to represent all those people and
Fundamental to effective critical HIV and AIDS work are the notions of sexual and social integrity.
confronting the taken-for-granted certainties and recognising that the future they will come to inhabit will be fundamentally different from the one inhabited by their parents. Such a future is not just the outcome of rapid and dramatic technological and climate
issues that are routinely ignored, forgotten or swept under
change, but also a result of the sweeping changes that
the rug. Intellectuals are not there to make audiences,
HIV and AIDS is making, and will make, to their commu-
politicians and peers feel good: their entire purpose is
nities and our society in ways that we have yet to under-
to be embarrassing, contrary and even downright un-
stand or take to heart.
pleasant. Fundamental to effective critical HIV and AIDS work are Much of the response to HIV and AIDS from the tertiary
the notions of sexual and social integrity. Increasingly we
sector (and indeed the nature of the HEAIDS response)
have come to understand that it is the absence of integrity
has highlighted the paucity of social research and a ten-
and of honesty that is underpinning this epidemic and our
dency in the new South Africa to shut down debate and
inadequate response to it. Pierre Brouard debates further
to close off discussion. Legitimacy, it seems, comes from
|52|
in his essay how important institutional integrity is in
if we do not explore the dark side of the moon, the
tertiary responses to HIV and AIDS work.
hidden meanings and identities that are shaped and strengthened by the attempt to homogenise people and
Sexual integrity means being honest in all sexual relation-
to assume shared values and beliefs. Understanding and
ships and being honest about one’s own self as a sexual
dealing with HIV and AIDS means working in uncertainty
being. But sexual integrity also requires a level of integ-
– it means refusing to accept the dogmas and the ortho-
rity from tertiary institutions that we have not yet achieved.
doxies, the obvious and the sensible.
It requires that we move away from notions of ABC and 2
ideas of sexual morality towards creating a critical intel-
Social integrity means holding up to the light all that is
lectual debate about masculinities and femininities, the
flawed and seeking a new way to create citizens who are
social construction of gender and a culture on the campus
honest rather than expedient, open rather than self-
that is open to a range of sexual identities and preferences. We need to understand that HIV and AIDS are deeply embedded in the social rather than the personal constructs of sexual identity and that the overly simplistic way in which we have addressed these
Sexual integrity also requires a level of integrity from tertiary institutions that we have not yet achieved.
issues serves only to confuse rather than to enlighten.
interested, and curious rather than certain.
Of course not all those involved in the university can engage with HIV and AIDS directly in their work. However, just as race and our understanding of race has shaped
us all and determined how we are able to work in, live in and share the new South Africa, we must also recognise
Social integrity means understanding the ways in which
that HIV and AIDS will also shape us all and determine
our society (and tertiary institutions as a reflection of
how we are able to work in, live in and share the new
society), in many ways lacks integrity and an ethical foun-
South Africa. When we ignored the realities of race and
dation. Social integrity means recognising that there are
racism, and when we did not have an intellectual under-
different views, and different ways of being and seeing
standing of race and racism, we found ourselves unable
and, most important of all, recognising that society cannot
to understand and account for much of what was happen-
be neatly slotted away into easy categories for research
ing in the present. The same is true of ignoring the realities
and intervention. Society is messy. By its very nature it is
of AIDS.
confused and muddled. We will not gain what we want
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Angus Taylor, Van hier tot daar (From here to there), 2012. Slate and stainless steel. Collection of University of the Free State, Sculpture-on-Campus Project funded by the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund. Photo: Angela de Jesus.
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This is a very important time for the tertiary sector to
and what needs to be done. And this is the essential space
reflect upon where we are in this epoch of AIDS – for it
that the ‘ivory tower’ affords.
seems that we have reached a serious impasse in our response and that we are floundering in how to sustain
What we have done is to have mainstreamed the status
the response. It also seems clear that now, more than any
quo rather than positioning it as something that we should
time before in the response to HIV and AIDS, the human
all be actively fighting against. The response to HIV and
rights and dignity of many people are directly under threat.
AIDS has become predictable, bound by formulas – a kind
We need to heed the opinion of Said:
of false community being asserted, a veneration of certain positions and ideas and a deadening and even loss of
I’ve never felt myself to belong to any establishcritical thought, debate and questioning. This is the very ment of any kind and mainstream. I’m interested antithesis of what the university is about and its critical in mainstreams; I’m jealous of them sometimes; role in challenging and changing society. occasionally, envy people who belong Responses to HIV and to them – because I certainly don’t – but AIDS have been on the whole I think they are the enemy. To quote Said again: I feel that authorities; canon; dogmas; mainstreamed in so many orthodoxies; establishments; are really ways that it is difficult to No social system, no historical vision, what we are up against … They deaden challenge them. 3 no theoretical totalisation, no matter thought. how powerful, can exhaust all the alternatives or practices that exist within its domain What we are confronting now in the AIDS world are the – there is always the opportunity to do someviews of people who have positioned themselves as exthing else; to formulate an alternative and not either to remain silent or to capitulate.4 perts, creating a canon, dogmas and orthodoxies, often with little or scant training in those areas in which they claim professional expertise. Responses to HIV and AIDS
What we seem to have lost in the AIDS response is the
have been mainstreamed in so many ways that it is diffi-
power to assert the alternative.
cult to challenge them – as for instance with the push by HEAIDS for mass testing campaigns through First Things
Young people studying at our institutions become adults
First – and this is having serious repercussions on our
in a world that is bewildering, exciting and full of challenges
ability to stand back and reflect upon where we are going
through sex, drugs, crime and violence, and immersed in
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an education system that seems constantly to fail them.
shape their lives? And to equip them to have powerful
The AIDS epidemic is shaking the foundations of homes
imagined futures?
for many young people. The public sector in whose care so many of them are placed through education, health
The university can offer intellectual leadership in the HIV
care and social development is itself buckling to the
and AIDS epidemics and challenge many of the taken-
epidemic. But despite this, young people remain the
for-granted assumptions about the epidemics, about
great hope for the ending of the epidemic, for the care
society, about sexualities and identity. It can also foster new
and support of those who are infected as well as for being
understandings and explanations of the epidemics and
secure adults in the future.
the societies in which they are developing. The university can help us learn how to address the epidemics through a
Yet, we are failing them: we offer them mixed messages and we fail to educate them about their sexual identities and about gender social oppression.
The crucial question is: how we can do this effectively? How do we develop young people’s minds and equip them for the
Young people remain the great hope for the ending of the epidemic, for the care and support of those who are infected as well as for being secure adults in the future.
range of interventions that are both internal to the university and external in the communities from which the staff and students are drawn.
The role of the tertiary sector in this epidemic is to ask questions – to ask uncomfortable questions and to challenge existing
reality of AIDS? Do we get them to accept the reality,
assumptions about young people, social and sexual be-
merely to tinker with it and try to mitigate its effects – by
havior, and political responses. A further responsibility
not challenging the dominant status quo, by not question-
is to create imagined futures into which students and
ing the ways in which gender, culture and tradition feed
the rest of society can project a society post-AIDS.
into and collude with the epidemic, or by playing all the old clichés about power and oppression, and blaming
For this to happen, HIV and AIDS work must be seen as a
all the usual suspects?
process that can transform the institutions in terms of how they address social problems. We need a fresh look at
Or do we equip them to think in new ways about who
how societies operate and how the education system in
they are? To consider what forces have shaped and will
one way or another colludes in oppression. The tertiary
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sector can provide new perceptions of how the status quo
tools to understand power, hegemony, patronage, choice,
can be challenged. HIV and AIDS can radically alter the
freedom and social identity? We need to provide students
core function and rationale of any university.
with the conceptual and theoretical tools to understand how culture can lock them into positions of inferiority,
In most AIDS prevention we have turned away from any
how culture can be used to collude with the epidemics,
real theoretical understanding through our devotion to
and how race and class and gender all have webs of
the myth that AIDS information and messages – AIDS pre-
interconnectedness beyond mere behaviour change.
vention – needs to be simple, that it needs to be uncomplicated and straightforward. In our adherence to this
AIDS education is not about basic facts, nor is it about
mythology we have failed to recognise the importance of
mass testing campaigns – it is about having the intel-
education being conceptual and theoretical – something
lectual skills and the curiosity to use facts to change the
that makes us think and through such thinking begin to understand, integrate and work with theory, so that we have the means to act on this understanding.
AIDS education is not about basic facts, nor is it about mass testing campaigns – it is about having the intellectual skills and the curiosity to use facts to change the world.
world.
We are now in a precarious state with regards to the epidemics and the critical gender response. We have sunk into the pedestrian, the banal and the mundane,
We have to realise that we have fascinating and complex
the sound-bites and the clichés. What has happened to
epidemics, playing themselves out in widely divergent
the critical voice, the voice that challenges, the voice
communities with different pasts and different futures
that asks questions and refuses to accept the taken-for-
– and they are overlaid with fascinating and complex
granted explanations?
ideas about tradition, modernity and the impact of globalisation.5
The system and the push for mainstreamed responses neither want to nor in the end can accommodate the
What theoretical or conceptual tools are we developing
person who argues for alternatives for a different vision.
with young people to challenge the dominant status quo?
Yet it is essential for us in the tertiary sector to seek dif-
How do we recognise this epidemic in all of its complex
ferent ways to think about HIV and AIDS and how we
forms and provide young people with the theoretical
collude with gender oppression. We have made great
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progress in many fields but we have still not got it right.
organisations and communities that are, or could be, con-
Our role now is increasingly to challenge the experts – to
tributing to the response and by critically assessing the
protect the human rights and dignity of all and to ensure
extent to which their existing response is meeting the needs
that in the panic attacks these epidemics create we do
of the entire university community.
not compromise on integrity, truth and debate. It is necessary for each institution to know its own epiThe forces of convention, of conformity and of reluctance
demic, as well as understanding the trends and shifts in
to engage in debate about things that unsettle, embarrass
the provincial and national epidemics. This is because the
or confuse would suggest that there is in our institutions
epidemics keep evolving and changing, new infections
a very large group of intellectuals with whom we need
continue to take place, stigma is still pervasive, and people
to engage far more effectively. Yet on many campuses
do not wish to be tested or to take up treatments. But,
there is a growing group of intellectuals with intellectual curiosity who are keen to develop new understandings and explanations.
It is necessary for each institution to know its own epidemic, as well as understanding the trends and shifts in the provincial and
There are three components to how the
national epidemics.
just as crucially, to know the epidemic is also to know what works, where voluntary counselling and testing campaigns are successful, how treatments may be best accessed and how best to sustain prevention and community engagement.
university might deal with HIV and AIDS. The first component is that each institution, as UNAIDS proposed, comes
Understanding their epidemic allows for each institution
to ‘know their epidemic’. Institutions would need to
to review, plan, match and prioritise their responses in line
‘know their epidemic’ by identifying the behaviour and
with the National Strategic Plan.
6
social conditions on their campus that are most associated with HIV transmission and that undermine the ability of
The second component involves understanding and reflect-
young people and staff to access and use HIV informa-
ing. In the current literature on HIV and AIDS prevention,
tion, prevention and care services to the fullest.
the idea of ‘social drivers’ of the epidemic features very strongly.7
Knowing your epidemic provides the basis for institutions to expand and craft their response by recognising the
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HIV is transmitted by specific practices among individu-
Beliefs, attitudes, behaviours and practices of individuals
als and groups that occur in a social context. There is
and groups are framed by, and in turn influence, the
disagreement in the social sciences about the extent to
dynamic nature of these elements of society. These basic
which an individual’s desires and practices are shaped
constructs of human interaction in social groups underlie
by outside forces (social determinants) and how much
the concept of social drivers in the HIV and AIDS context.
they are a reflection of individual decisions to act (social
While there is no standard or agreed-upon definition of
action or agency), but there is a common understand-
social drivers, UNAIDS refers to them as “the social and
ing that much of what humans do, think, and desire is
structural factors, such as poverty, gender inequality, and
influenced, if not determined by, elements of our society.
human rights violations, that are not easily measured,
These core elements are norms, values, networks, structures
[but] that increase people’s vulnerability to HIV infection”.
and institutions.
Norms are rules about behaviour that reflect and embody prevailing cultural values and are usually backed by social sanctions (formal and informal). Values are ideas held by individuals and groups
Beliefs, attitudes, behaviours and practices of individuals and groups are framed by, and in turn influence, the dynamic nature of these elements of society.
As this definition conveys, not only are social-level phenomena difficult to measure, they also are difficult to define and therefore difficult to understand fully. A fundamental goal of HIV prevention is to change the behaviours that put
about what is desirable, proper, good or bad. Networks
individuals at risk of infection.8 For the past two and a
are the webs of human relationships (including dyadic,
half decades, HIV prevention has been largely dominated
familial, social, sexual and drug-using), through which
by individual-level behavioural interventions that seek to
social (including sexual) exchange occurs and social norms
influence knowledge, attitudes and behaviours, such as
are played out. Structures and institutions are the mate-
promotion of condom use, or sexual-health education,
rial and operational manifestations of social norms and
and education of injecting drug users about the dangers
networks, such as family units, organised religion, legisla-
of sharing equipment.
tive and policy apparatus, educational systems, universities, military and industrial organisations, etc., in which social
Although some individually oriented interventions have
interaction is patterned and, often, controlled.
shown results in reducing risk behaviour, their success is substantially improved when HIV prevention addresses
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the broader structural factors that shape or constrain indi-
Dealing with AIDS is not about consensus – it is about
viduals, such as poverty and wealth, gender, age, policy
rigour, debate, dissent and conflict. It is about challenging
and power.
all the assumptions, so that we can truly say to young people, particularly young women, that we have done the
Causal pathways link so-called structural factors – social, economic, political, and environmental factors – and the risk of HIV. Efforts to address these underlying factors are commonly referred to as structural approaches and seek to change the root causes or structures that affect individual risk and vulnerability to HIV.
very best we can to understand this epidemic and the social webs in which it moves. It is about intellectual bravery and always speaking the alternative view. It is about having a different take on reality and challenging the status quo – hence imagining a future that we would all be proud to inhabit.
Understanding and reflecting is informed through the third component: that of good research, both social research and bio-medical research, and through research
NOTES
that looks at sexual networks on campus and at how the institutional culture might impede effective HIV and
1 Crewe, M. (1999) They roam the landscape like leader-
AIDS work – e.g. levels of sexual abuse in residences, trans-
less dogs. Paper presented at the Commonwealth Heads
actional sex, intergenerational sex between staff and
of Universities, Durban 19.
students, levels of sexual risk among students, levels of
2 Abstinence, be faithful and condomise.
alcohol and drug abuse, sexual prejudice and stigma,
3 Ali, T. (2006). Conversations with Edward Said. Seagull
HIV- and AIDS-related stigma, and particularly gender issues and the position of women on campus. Understanding and reflecting is as much about ‘know your campus’ as it is about ‘know your epidemic’. The institutional leadership needs to take action to ensure that student and staff sub-cultures are recognised and identified. Denial exists about both institutional cultures
Books, 104. 4 Ibid. 109. 5 This whole section draws heavily on a paper given at the Toronto AIDS conference. 6 UNAIDS. Know your epidemic. www.unaidsrstesa.org 7 See in particular the work of the 2031 groups as well as the work of, inter alia, Judy Auerbach.
and the patterns of sexual behaviour and sexual networks
8 Gupta, G.R., Parkhurst, J.O., Ogden, J.A., Aggleton, P.,
on campus, and how these are fueled and driven by denial,
& Mahal, A. (2008). Structural approaches to HIV preven-
shame, social drivers and structural factors.
tion. The Lancet DOI:10.1016/S0140- 6736(08)60887-9.
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Angus Taylor, Layers of mind, 2012. Stone and bronze. Collection of University of Cape Town. Photo: Katherine Traut.
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Edoardo Villa, Conversation, 1973. Steel. Collection of University of Pretoria.
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Cultural nostalgia and critical dialogue in peer education? Towards a generative space for HIV prevention in higher education settings Relebohile Moletsane
INTRODUCTION
in promoting HIV prevention as it tends to change social norms and behaviour. The authors also cite Campbell and
Peer education has often been billed as most promising
Mzaidume (2001), who assert that peer education allows
in terms of effective HIV prevention and changing the
a change in the social environment in which young people
course of the AIDS pandemic internationally. The peer
live, study and work.
education approach has been used in various health interventions, most recently including reduction in substance
However, other writers are critical of peer education, charg-
abuse, and HIV prevention (see for example, Perry et al.
ing that it is “a method in search of a theory rather than the
1983, Wiist & Snider 1991, cited by Turner & Sheperd, 1999).
application of theory to practice” (Turner & Sheperd 1999:
Its advocates often assert that, in particular, young people
235). In spite of such scholarly critiques, the method con-
are more likely to be open to, and therefore, able to learn
tinues to be popular among health educators, particularly
more effectively, and to accept and use new, radically
(but not limited to) those who work with young people.
different and controversial information (e.g. about sex, sexuality and HIV and AIDS) if it comes from peers rather
While it is not intended to be a critique of peer education,
than from adults and/or so-called experts. Citing the work
this essay aims to examine the possible contributions of
of Bond, Valente and Kendall (1999), Murdock, Lutchmia
the approach to HIV prevention when used in diverse
and Mkhize (2010) conclude that peer education is effective
cultural and gendered contexts in South African higher
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education institutions (HEIs). The essay will illustrate how,
nostalgia). On the one hand, reflective nostalgia uses the
in the context of the resurgence of the notion of ‘culture’,
same triggers of remembrance and symbols as frames of
and in particular, the notion of ‘our culture’ as a basis for
reference that restorative nostalgia does. On the other
individuals and groups to construct and perform their
hand, reflective nostalgia involves both individual and
identities (see Moletsane 2011), such nostalgia for the past
cultural (collective) memory in thinking about and ena-
is, in many ways, significantly and negatively impacting on
bling different or alternative narratives to be told. Informed
interventions, particularly education targeting HIV preven-
by this notion, the essay addresses the questions: Using
tion (and care) in communities and institutions, including
reflective nostalgia as an entry point, to what extent and in
the often celebrated peer-led programmes.
what ways can peer education develop a more democratic, generative and dialogic space in which young people in
Often, peer education involves didactic approaches to education, where less vocal individuals learn from and accept the views of experts and their more powerful peers. Rather than real learning, such approaches at best succeed in coercing people to conform (to the values and views of the more powerful) and in excluding and silencing
Often, peer education involves didactic approaches to education, where less vocal individuals learn from and accept the views of experts and their more
HEIs might explore different and even opposing ways of constructing and performing their identities? How might this contribute towards effective peer education for HIV prevention on university campuses?
powerful peers.
those who hold opposing beliefs (see Lesko 2010). In our patriarchal society, when informed by cultural nostal-
WHY A FOCUS ON UNIVERSITY STUDENTS?
gia, such approaches perpetuate gender inequality, fuel gender-based violence, provide a fertile ground for HIV
Why is there a need to focus specifically on university stu-
infections, and inhibit efforts aimed at HIV prevention
dents and on peer education in HEIs?
(Moletsane 2011). As post-apartheid South Africa becomes a noteworthy As an alternative, the essay is informed by Svetlana Boym’s
political, social and economic player on the global stage,
(2001) notion of reflective nostalgia as a more democratic
paradoxically, the country’s internal socio-economic chal-
and generative form of memory (as opposed to restorative
lenges seem to be multiplying. Among these are unequal
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access to resources and services (e.g. education, health
Of particular relevance to this essay is the survey find-
and transport), poverty, unemployment, and HIV and AIDS.
ing which suggests a link between forced sex and HIV prevalence. For example, the survey found that HIV preva-
In 2008/2009, the Higher Education HIV and AIDS Pro-
lence was higher among males (6.7%) and females (12.1%)
gramme (HEAIDS) conducted an HIV prevalence survey
who reported forced sex, than among those who did
among staff and students at 21 of the 22 HEIs in South
not (1.9% for males and 4.6% for females) (HEAIDS
Africa. While the findings of this survey suggest that
2010: 32). These prevalence rates are worrying, particu-
HIV prevalence in this population was low at 3.4% com-
larly in the context of the well-documented pervasive-
pared to the general population, the variations in the
ness of gender-based and sexual violence on university
prevalence rates present some concerns (HEAIDS 2010).
campuses across the country. For example, in an issue of
The first concern relates to the provincial variations in HIV prevalence among the HEIs, with the Eastern Cape having the highest at 6.4% and the Western Cape having the lowest at 1.1% (HEAIDS 2010). The second is related to the gendered prevalence rates among the students in the various HEIs. For example, across all
These prevalence rates are worrying, particularly in the context of the welldocumented pervasiveness of gender-based and sexual violence on university campuses across the country.
provinces, “[f]emales, with an HIV prevalence of 4.7%
Agenda dedicated to gender violence in education several authors reported and analysed the pervasiveness of gender and sexual violence on various university campuses (Clowes et al. 2009, Collins et al. 2009, Hames 2009). As microcosms of the larger society, there are unacceptably high levels of gender-based violence generally
and sexual violence in particular, among students at HEIs.
... were more than three times as likely to be HIV positive in comparison to males and this difference was sta-
The HEAIDS survey and the various studies referred to
tistically significant …(p