Managing Risk and Experiencing Danger: tensions between government AIDS education policy and young women's sexuality |
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| Authors: | Janet Holland Caroline Ramazanoglu Sue Scott |
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| Institution: | 1. Institute of Education , London , United Kingdom;2. Goldsmiths’ College , London , United Kingdom;3. University of Manchester , United Kingdom |
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| Abstract: | Much of the early panic relating to AIDS has focused on non‐heterosexual sexualities and the identification of high risk groups. It can be argued that fear of the spread of HIV and AIDS into the heterosexual population was the spur for the development of government policy in this area. The protection of the population in general depends on changes in high risk sexual practices, and the part played in these changes by young women has been given scant attention. We argue here that the sexual knowledge and practice of young women are crucial factors in the spread of HIV and AIDS, and that information on these factors is limited and interpreted within a framework of patriarchal ideology which obscures the power relations embedded in sexual relations. These issues are discussed using data from an investigation of young women's sexual beliefs and behaviour (the Women Risk and AIDS Project — WRAP) in relation to government AIDS education campaigns. |
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