Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Hiv/Aids-Related Human Security Risks For Young Women In Rural Uganda, Shelley Jones

Institute for Educational Development, East Africa

Structural inequities, violence and oppression render young women in rural Uganda highly vulnerable to HIV/AIDS. Their decision-making powers, control over their bodies and sexuality, and access to sexual health resources are critically limited or wholly absent. Yet, prevailing HIV/AIDS programming, notably the President's Emergency Program for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), emphasizes individual behaviour change to combat HIV/AIDS at the expense of wider societal considerations. This study explores the life experiences of a group of young Ugandan women and argues that the political and ideological battle of ownership (national as well as global) over the HIV/AIDS prevention discourse not only disregards these …