Students at KwaBhekilanga Secondary School are now wiser to the risks and dangers of HIV/Aids and other sexually transmitted diseases.
This is after exposure to a USAID-funded play called It’s Your Life performed by actors from the National Children’s Theatre. The performance has been staged in Diepsloot, Soweto and Sebokeng, and will also go inner city schools.
Willie van Staden said they targeted Grade 6 to 8 students who are impressionable and most vulnerable to peer pressure.
“The scenes depict circumstances which make them vulnerable to contracting HIV and provide them coping mechanisms against other sexually related diseases,” he said
Van Staden said children needed help to understand and develop life skills for coping in school, the community and home. “In this instance, we want to protect them from, especially, HIV which is a major threat to them as most are already involved in, or are enticed to try, sex with minimal awareness of consequences. They should know sex is not casual but a commitment with the consequences of pregnancy and infections which could ruin their lives forever.”
The messages included freedom of choice to protect them from being pressured to do what they were not ready for. They were also taught about the limited safety provided by pills, which only protected against pregnancy and not infections. The sexually active were encouraged to use condoms for protection.
Scenes of date rape where shown to create awareness against non-consensual sex. Van Staden said these rapes often occurred at social gatherings, and said the abused children felt they had no evidence, even when they knew they had been sexually abused. He said those who suspected abuse should report it, and shouldn’t bath before being tested. The test results would be used as evidence in a sexual abuse or rape case. He recommended they get tested and treated against pregnancy and HIV at clinics or hospitals.
He said a tablet commonly used for date rape called rohypnol (silver bullet or roofie) was slipped into drinks without a victim’s knowledge. “This can be avoided if partygoers pour their own drinks and keep them in their possession at all times.”
The actors also advised children against committing suicide after testing HIV positive, and to refrain from publicising the status of others.
“Someone else’s health is confidential and [it is] a criminal offence to disclose [it]. Those who are infected should get and adhere to medical treatment to enable them live longer,” he concluded.
Details: National Children’s Theatre 011 484 1584.
