Go-Getters Clubs

Focus group discussions provided the basis for the development of the programme, which seeks to reach young women in their first year of university. The programme starts with the premise that the exchange of sex for a plate of chips or a mobile phone is not only degrading to women but is simply not worth the risk. The clubs are run by peer educators trained by Population Services International (PSI), who aim to impart life skills, raise risk perception of HIV/AIDS infection, cultivate confidence and self-esteem, and encourage young girls to look beyond short-term gratification to long-term goals and plans. During recruitment for the clubs, PSI worked with the universities' Muslim, Catholic, Anglican and Seventh Day Adventist groups; peer educators from each of these groups were then trained.

Fortnightly Go-Getters club meetings encourage girls to discuss issues related to cross-generational sex and to appreciate the risks this practice poses both in terms of health and the attainment of their goals. Monthly talks and presentations are held featuring successful local women from various professional backgrounds to give the girls concrete evidence of what they can achieve, and specific tips on how to do it.

The programme lobbies local businesses to provide internships for the members of these clubs. Girls are placed according to their ambitions to provide extra motivation for them to focus on their long-term goals.

Rights, Women, HIV/AIDS, Gender, Health.

PSI defines cross-generational sex as a sexual relationship between a man and a woman with at least a 10-year difference in age. Organisers say that cross-generational sex in the country has been recognised as fuelling the spread of HIV because young women are often not in the position to negotiate condom use with men in positions of greater power or authority.

"Although still in its initial phase, the Go-Getters clubs have received an overwhelmingly positive response, particularly from university administrations that acknowledge this as a critical intervention to counter a growing trend among their female students."