Sexuality Issues Among Adolescents Living with HIV and AIDS in Botswana

Abstract

Most of the adolescents living with HIV and AIDS were born prior to the introduction of the Antiretroviral Therapy in Botswana. This cohort had just reached adolescence and it was imperative to understand their sexuality and 26 ALWHA aged 15 to 19 years, their parents/guardians and health care providers participated in the study. An elicitation survey was conducted among this group followed by Focus Group Discussions. In-depth interviews were conducted among 8 and 25 parents/guardians and health care providers respectively. Thematic content analysis was adopted to analyze the data. The following themes were derived: difficulty to disclose one’s HIV-infected status, parents/guardians failure to discuss sexuality issues with adolescents, mode of HIV transmission, sexual activity and inactivity, sex education, sexual violations, conscripted intimacy, and the right to sexual relations. The same issues were expressed by parents/guardians and health care providers. Sexuality education needs to be incorporated and strengthened at both nursing curricula and at policy level. Programes that reinforce parent- child communication should be instituted and strengthened at community, institutional and national levels.