Red Cross Blogs

Spreading the word about HIV

By Ben Stickley
December 1, 2008 at 3:31 pm

In a special episode to mark World AIDS Day, we spoke to three young volunteers who are teaching their peers how to protect themselves from HIV, and dispelling the myths and stigmas around the disease.

HIV peer educators

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Ben: Who better to talk to young people about HIV than other young people? Here at the British Red Cross, we train what we call ‘peer educators’ to engage with others their age about issues affecting us all.

To mark World AIDS Day, we’re going to speak to some volunteers involved in a project linking peer educators in Glasgow to their counterparts in Kathmandu, Nepal.

You might think, living thousands of miles away from each other, these young people would be facing very different issues concerning HIV – and they are.

But, in speaking to these peer educators from Greenock – near Glasgow – we find out that both countries face an ongoing problem that can only be solved by education.

Twenty-two-year-old Gemma Matthews explains why it’s important to dispel the myths surrounding HIV.

Gemma: I think it’s important to put the message about HIV out, because a lot of people in the UK don’t realise that HIV is growing rapidly in the heterosexual community, and not just the homosexual community.

A lot of people think that if you’re not gay and you don’t live in Africa, that you’re not at risk, so there is no need to worry about it. A lot of people don’t get that, unlike other STIs, where you can take a couple of tablets and you’re fine, with HIV, you’ve got if for life. It’ll not just go away.

Ben: It’s not just ignorance of HIV that peer educators have to contend with. Seventeen-year-old Scott Mckillop describes what happened when he and other volunteers carried out a survey among people in his town, to find out how much they knew.

Gemma: They were quite, I don’t know if they were afraid, or nervous, or too shy, to speak on the survey. Quite a few of people were like: ‘No, I don’t want to be interviewed,” when we mentioned HIV and Aids, they stopped, hesitated and walked away.

Ben: As well finding out how people view HIV in their own communities, the group are talking to young Red Cross volunteers in Nepal, to try and understand the global impacts of the epidemic. They have been using email, webcams and social networking sites to keep in touch. Gemma describes what they have discovered.

Gemma: In Nepal, women are not allowed to be treated by a doctor for contraceptives or sexual health unless their husband’s with them, or they have permission for a male. I think that was quite an eye opener – as obviously here, it’s up to the individual.

Ben: To mark World AIDS Day, the group is visiting Inverclyde Academy, a local high school, to talk to sixteen and seventeen-year-old students about sexual health and HIV. Gemma again.

Gemma: We’ll do a presentation and maybe show a video, and have some group work sessions as well. We’ll divide them up and get them thinking and talking. So we’re not just talking to them – cause they’re not going to take that in.

Ben: Peer educators don’t just help people learn how to protect themselves against HIV. The training often opens their own eyes to the realities of the disease. Sixteen-year-old Karla Johnstone tells us how becoming a peer educator has affected her.

Karla: I always knew how easy it was to contract HIV, but I always used to think “it won’t happen to me.” But since coming to this, I’ve actually thought, there’s quite a lot of people that say “it won’t happen to me” and how important it is, if you’re with a boyfriend, or girlfriend, to get it checked out, to get it sorted.

Ben: Of course, the emphasis of peer education is on the word ‘peer’. Gemma Matthews tells us why it’s important that young people educate each other.

Gemma: I think young people feel better talking about sexual health and things like that, with other young people, rather than adults. A lot of young people aren’t willing to discuss these issues in front of adults, because they don’t want adults to know they’re sexually active.

Ben: For more information about the Red Cross’ HIV work in the UK and around the world, including videos of peer educators, visit redcrosshiv.org. To find out how to become a peer educator, go toredcross.org.uk/peeredvolunteer.

If you have any questions or comments, please emailpodcasts@redcross.org.uk.

Thank you for listening to Red Cross Radio. I’m Ben Stickley.

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