Sexuality, HIV Prevention, Vulnerability and Risk

Abstract

Abstract Since early in the epidemic, sex and sexuality have been central to discourses of HIV/AIDS prevention. Yet the manner in which these terms are used and the way in which we have been encouraged to understand risk and vulnerability in the face of the epidemic have varied. Drawing on a review of relevant literature as well as experience globally, this paper charts a gradual shift in paradigm from a focus on sexual behaviors and individual risk to a more broadly based analysis which emphasises sexuality, sexual identity and sexual expression; the contexts in which sexual acts occur and become meaningful; and the societal and environmental factors that predispose towards vulnerability. The implications of this shift for policy and program development across the fields of HIV/AIDS and sexual health are discussed.