Oral communication: a gateway to understanding adolescents' sexual risk behaviour

Abstract

Sub-Saharan Africa is predominantly an oral society. Oral communication tools such as songs, proverbs and metaphorical sayings are used to inform and educate people. These communication tools are not usually seen as methods for data collection, more especially in HIV and AIDS research. Oral communication tools are important in the context of Botswana because they produce a descriptive and analytical basis for understanding adolescents' behaviour and sexual worldview. To develop culturally and developmentally appropriate interventions to dissuade adolescents from engaging in sexual risk behaviour, metaphorical language, proverbs and songs were used to solicit data. The paper highlights sexual risk behaviours among adolescents who emanated from using the above methods. Lastly, the importance of mainstreaming culture in the research process to ensure representation of the voices of adolescents and parents in managing HIV and AIDS is emphasised.

Caring for HIV‐positive orphans in the context of HIV and AIDS: perspectives of Botswana grandmothers

“…Community home‐based care programs need to develop culturally sensitive programs that can address myths regarding the cause of HIV and assist with disclosure of HIV status. Adolescent friendly health centres can also be set up in villages (Ntshwarang Poloko & Malinga‐Musamba, ). Support groups of grandmothers caring for orphans can be formed to enable them to share experiences and support each other.…”

Understanding Early Pregnancies: Sociocultural Factors of Teenage Childbearing in Gaborone, Botswana

“…A feminist ethnography focused on the young mothers' perspectives documents, as we shall show below, that there is not only a cultural environment articulated in part by these proverbs but, most significantly, a supportive social network that enables such early pregnancies to be seen in positive rather than pathological terms. Ntshwarang and Malinga-Musamba (2015) show that the systematic failure of national policies advocated in family planning clinics ignores this societal and cultural perspective that shapes the sexual behavior of Tswana youth. Therefore, one of the key questions we explore in this focused phenomenological study is as follows: Is the risky behavior of unprotected sex by our research subjects an intended (even if not openly articulated) practice, or is it a result of ignorance about the facts, an unfortunate outcome that is due to lack of educational resources?…”

The Role of Cultural Proverbs and Myths in Shaping Sexual Worldviews of Adolescents in Botswana: Evidence from an HIV/STD Prevention Research Study

“…For example, maintaining virginity was viewed as unhealthy and besides suffering from an erection as the male adolescents had reported, it was reported that girls could suffer from "virgin disease, birth complications, painful orgasm and bareness." Ntshwarang and Malinga-Musamba (2013) have indicated that the belief in such kind of distressful myths is usually caused by the fact that adolescents want to be accepted into the peer social network and to sustain relationships with the opposite sex.…”

“…The conversation showed that there is broad cultural and sociohistorical context that inform adolescent life styles. Ntshwarang and Malinga-Musamba (2013) have also emphasized the importance of culture by stating that societal factors play distinct roles in shaping cultural norms and influencing behavior. Culture is very significance in HIV and AIDS prevention interventions among adolescents because people operate on behavioral expectations that are culturally meaningful (Wang & Kaplowitz, 2005).…”

“…The vulnerability of young people to HIV infection persuaded the Botswana National Strategic Framework on HIV and AIDS to prioritize the youth and children in the fight to control HIV and AIDS. For this reason it is imperative to develop culturally appropriate and effective interventions to prevent HIV transmission among adolescents in Botswana (Ntshwarang & Malinga-Musamba, 2013).…”