Areas noted by officials to have recorded increases in infections are Alex/Sandton, Braamfontein and Hillbrow, Merafong in the West Rand, Katlehong, and Bronkhorstspruit in Tshwane.
Of interest to us was the behaviour of the student population, mostly concentrated in Braamfontein, the mining communities in the West Rand and sex workers in Hillbrow.
Some common threads run through their stories.
Some engage in reckless sexual behaviour by choice – something we believe is fuelled by socialisation, social pressure and lack of understanding of sexual health.
Others are victims of sexual exploitation whether by force or coercion.
In a country such as ours, with deep economic challenges, young women in conditions of poverty, or sex workers are for obvious reasons, most vulnerable to such exploitation.
SOWETAN | Sexual health education critical
Image: Thulani Mbele
“I know what STIs are but they are not going to kill me like HIV,” a 21-year-old university student told this newspaper this week.
We had sought to understand why young people were engaging in unprotected sex, choosing to use prevention medication to avoid contracting HIV but neglecting to use condoms to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted infections.
The figures released by the Gauteng health department earlier in the week are deeply concerning.
They show that two in five males who were treated at public health facilities in Gauteng had one form of STI or another between April and December last year.
Importantly, health authorities have noted an increase in the number of people who use pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), as a standard measure to limit their chances of contracting HIV rather than exercising safe sex – where a choice to do so exists.
Why sexually transmitted infections are rising in Gauteng
Areas noted by officials to have recorded increases in infections are Alex/Sandton, Braamfontein and Hillbrow, Merafong in the West Rand, Katlehong, and Bronkhorstspruit in Tshwane.
Of interest to us was the behaviour of the student population, mostly concentrated in Braamfontein, the mining communities in the West Rand and sex workers in Hillbrow.
Some common threads run through their stories.
Some engage in reckless sexual behaviour by choice – something we believe is fuelled by socialisation, social pressure and lack of understanding of sexual health.
Others are victims of sexual exploitation whether by force or coercion.
In a country such as ours, with deep economic challenges, young women in conditions of poverty, or sex workers are for obvious reasons, most vulnerable to such exploitation.
WORLD AIDS DAY | HIV prevention strategies must evolve as ARVs change the perception of risk
What is most glaring, however, is that civic education on sexual behaviour and health has declined over the years.
Yet, the combination of sexual exposure at a much younger age, social media, peer pressure, economic exploitation and lack of education about sexual health poses an increased danger to this generation than those before it.
Sexual health education must be regarded as equally important as it was before by authorities, communities and our social circles.
The rise in infections are not to be scoffed at.
They point to a society whose behaviour – whether by choice or otherwise – has a direct impact on its very wellbeing.
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