Researching South African Youth, Gender and Sexuality Within the Context of HIV/AIDS

In the context of HIV/AIDS, youth have become central to contemporary South African social thought and educational policy concerns regarding changing behaviour, addressing gender inequalities, safe sex and preventing the spread of the disease. Yet we know very little about how youth in specific social contexts give meaning to gender and sexuality. Greater understanding of these processes would appear vital to successful educational strategies in the protection against HIV/AIDS in South Africa. Deevia Bhana and Rob Pattman argue that the lives and identities of young men and women must be central in any initiative to change behaviour. Development (2009) 52, 68–74. doi:10.1057/dev.2008.75