Abstract
IntroductionThe female condom is the only evidence-based AIDS prevention technology that has been designed for the female body; yet, most women do not have access to it. This is remarkable since women constitute the majority of all HIV-positive people living in sub-Saharan Africa, and gender inequality is seen as a driving force of the AIDS epidemic. In this study, we analyze how major actors in the AIDS prevention field frame the AIDS problem, in particular the female condom in comparison to other prevention technologies, in their discourse and policy formulations. Our aim is to gain insight into the discursive power mechanisms that underlie the thinking about AIDS prevention and women’s sexual agency.MethodsWe analyze the AIDS policies of 16 agencies that constitute the most influential actors in the global response to AIDS. Our study unravels the discursive power of these global AIDS policy actors, when promoting and making choices between AIDS prevention technologies. We conducted both a quantitative and qualitative analysis of how the global AIDS epidemic is being addressed by them, in framing the AIDS problem, labelling of different categories of people for targeting AIDS prevention programmes and in gender marking of AIDS prevention technologies.ResultsWe found that global AIDS policy actors frame the AIDS problem predominantly in the context of gender and reproductive health, rather than that of sexuality and sexual rights. Men’s sexual agency is treated differently from women’s sexual agency. An example of such differentiation and of gender marking is shown by contrasting the framing and labelling of male circumcision as an intervention aimed at the prevention of HIV with that of the female condom.ConclusionsThe gender-stereotyped global AIDS policy discourse negates women’s agency in sexuality and their sexual rights. This could be an important factor in limiting the scale-up of female condom programmes and hampering universal access to female condoms.
Highlights
The female condom is the only evidence-based AIDS prevention technology that has been designed for the female body; yet, most women do not have access to it
We study how global AIDS policy actors frame the AIDS problem in relation to women’s sexuality and the female condom by analyzing the discourse used in policy papers
What AIDS prevention technologies do global AIDS policy actors prioritize in their policy papers? How do they frame the AIDS problem in the context of gender and sexuality? How are categories of people labelled, and what are the consequences for the gender marking of AIDS prevention technologies? After presenting our methodology, we describe the results of our analysis in relation to these questions, followed by a discussion and conclusion
Summary
The female condom is the only evidence-based AIDS prevention technology that has been designed for the female body; yet, most women do not have access to it This is remarkable since women constitute the majority of all HIV-positive people living in sub-Saharan Africa, and gender inequality is seen as a driving force of the AIDS epidemic. Men’s sexual agency is treated differently from women’s sexual agency An example of such differentiation and of gender marking is shown by contrasting the framing and labelling of male circumcision as an intervention aimed at the prevention of HIV with that of the female condom. Conclusions: The gender-stereotyped global AIDS policy discourse negates women’s agency in sexuality and their sexual rights This could be an important factor in limiting the scale-up of female condom programmes and hampering universal access to female condoms. It is not clear how global AIDS policy actors include the concept of gender in their programming, especially when prioritizing HIV prevention technologies
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