Bringing Dental Dams to WK

Today, Waterford welcomed visitors from the Swaziland Ministry of Health and Rock of Hope to hold a queer-specific sex-ed talk and provide some information about the HIV epidemic within eSwatini. Organizing this talk has been somewhat of a pet project of mine for a while. Last term, I got picked as one of the heads of Pride Week here. During the interview that last year’s heads held, they asked what ideas I had to bring to the event, and this was one of the main ones.

When it comes to sex-ed, WK mainly preaches abstinence. This is due to the fact that sex on campus is strictly banned, and with the new laws in eSwatini, sex under 18 is considered statutory rape. However, this becomes somewhat unrealistic when you shove 600 teenagers on a remote mountaintop in a high-pressure environment. I’m lucky to have been educated partly in Canada, where sex-ed, (at least in my province in British Columbia) is comprehensive, fairly inclusive, and begins at a young age and continues throughout a student’s time in the public education system. However, many of the sex-ed talks I’ve experienced over the years through my time in three different education systems, (Canada, Australia, and eSwatini) have been very heteronormative. With that in mind, I started trying to think of ways to host a queer-friendly sexual health and education talk in a country where homosexuality is illegal.

I ended up being extremely lucky. When I first came to Waterford, I was connected with a UWC alum that used to be baby-sat by one of my mum’s friends. She works as a health provider so I figured she was the perfect person to contact.  She sent me the contact info of a woman from the Swaziland Ministry of Health and I tried to write a carefully crafted, tactful note about gay sex that wouldn’t get me arrested. Luckily, she was extremely helpful, and ended up putting together a team to come to Waterford today.

Along with the sexual health information, they shared a lot of statistical information about eSwatini. In 2011, 32% of the population between the ages of 18 and 49 was living with HIV. A recent study showed that 70.3% of female sex workers in eSwatini are HIV positive. Due to the high rate of unemployment in the country, many young Swazi women end up turning to sex work. Often they receive more money for having sex without a condom. Sex work is also criminalized in eSwatini, and police officers would frequently present used condoms in court as ‘proof’ that the woman was engaging in sex work, leading to many women abandoning condoms for fear of prosecution. Added to this, when women go to get tested for HIV, they’re frequently questioned about husbands and partners, so oftentimes sex workers forgo testing.

When it comes to gay men, an estimated 14% are HIV positive. Our speakers today linked this percentage to the fact that homosexuality in eSwatini is criminalized and many men are afraid to fully commit to a partner due to societal stigma.

This was a project I’m really proud of – it was a great opportunity to learn more about what steps eSwatini is taking, as well as spread some education. Hopefully our speakers were able to emphasize the message that safe sex is achievable and important regardless of your sexual orientation.