Researching gender: explorations into sexuality and HIV/AIDS in African contexts

The author demonstrates that collaborating with children using a gender-sensitive life-cycle approach yields social and health dividends. The paper focuses upon young people and children engaged in HIV/AIDS education, not only as consumers of information but also as generators of knowledge pertinent to their needs, aspirations, anxieties, fears, hopes and dreams. This subject-centred approach to education is facilitated by innovative methodologies that allow young people to talk frankly with adults and amongst themselves, to participate in community theatre designed to help different types of people address issues of common interest, and to work with experienced adult researchers in generating relevant data.