Homosexuality and HIV in Africa: An Essay on Using Entertainment Education as a Vehicle for Stigma Reduction

Abstract

HIV transmission in sub Saharan Africa has been consistently reported to be heterosexual. The existence of Men who have Sex with Men (MSM) has been denied and the epidemic among them ignored although homosexuality in the continent has been documented. Consequently, limited research has been conducted among Africa’s MSM. Homophobia has been reported as one of the key forces driving Africa’s epidemic because stigma and discrimination may make MSM a hard-to-reach group for HIV prevention and early treatment services. We conducted searches in journals, newspapers, UNAIDS and MSM web sites to read laws, abuse, and discrimination of MSM. We reviewed literature on entertainment education and its success in addressing social, political, and health issues worldwide in order to propose a solution to the issue. Fifty-five percent of African countries have laws against sex between men. Penalties range from fines, imprisonment, or death. Official harassments, state sponsored homophobia and threats against MSM have been documented. Stigmatization can create barriers to testing, restrict utilization of prevention programs, condom use, and failure to disclose HIV status to sexual partners. This paper suggests a communication strategy such as entertainment education to raise awareness and tolerance and to promote action in the fight against HIV/AIDS epidemic and related stigmatization among Africa’s MSM. Entertainment Education which derives from various theories can be disseminated through radio or TV and can bring behavior and social change by offering the audience an opportunity for social learning. It has been effective worldwide and examples include Grey’s Anatomy, ER, Philadelphia, Soul City, Eastenders, and the telenovela Simplemente Maria and can pave way for HIV prevention and treatment in a vulnerable population.