Language, videos and family planning in the South Pacific

Abstract

In 1984, women in Fiji, Kiribati, the Solomon Islands, and Tonga wanted culture-specific, educational resources on sexuality, family planning, contraception, reproduction, and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Family Planning Australia [FPA] found video to be the most appropriate means to present information on these topics, since video continues the story-telling tradition of the Pacific. Women worked with FPA to produce videos addressing these topics. They were filmed in Fiji, which has a broad cross-section of South Pacific people. FPA took into account women's concerns and cultural and religious sensitivities. The English language videos were Better Safe, a story about STDs, condom use, and male sexual responsibility; Taboo Talk, a documentary about women's attitudes on menstruation, sex education, and family planning; AIDS and the South Pacific, about AIDS transmission and prevention; a d Down There, an animated documentary on reproduction and contraceptive methods. A project evaluation revealed that the videos would have received wider acceptance had they been in local languages. Local men and women debated each work of a translation of the list of reproductive health terms, eventually resulting in 20 culturally and linguistically appropriate video translations. A cross section of national language speakers modified and improved the draft translation of the 4 scripts. This whole process resulted in incorporation of the 88 reproductive health terms into the Booklet of South Pacific Reproductive Health Words and Phrases. The project showed that Pacific women were able to compile a booklet of culturally and linguistically acceptable terms and to successfully translate the scripts of health videos. In conclusions, people tend to be more willing to accept sexuality information and frank and explicit material than is usually believed if they are allowed to determine the context in which they receive it.