Many people become infected with HIV through sex. For two people in a sexual relationship to avoid infection, they both have to be free of HIV and stay faithful and committed to each other.
People need to care about each other and the future. We can support each other in avoiding HIV by sharing knowledge and information. Young couples may agree together that they will wait for a sexual relationship until they are married. The more people can talk openly about the risks of HIV infection and sex, the more they can help each other to try to stay free of infection. Condoms can greatly reduce the risk of infection from HIV and their use should be discussed.
People who share needles for drug-taking are at great risk from HIV infection. We can work to make clean needles and syringes available. We should make people aware of the risks, and support drug users who want to break their addiction. Pregnant women who may be HIV positive can be treated with anti-retroviral drugs to reduce the risk of passing HIV to their baby.
Discussion
- What kind of activities put people at risk of HIV infection?
- What situations encourage married men or women to be unfaithful to each other? How can people deal with these situations? What encourages them to be faithful?
- What does the Bible say about sex?
- Role-plays about difficult or embarrassing situations can help start discussions and allow people to think about what they would do in such situations. Discuss ideas on how to perform a simple role-play. What situations could be used for role-play? One possible suggestion is given in the box below.
- What influences young people as they consider how to behave sexually? At what age do they become sexually active? How can the church work to challenge unhelpful influences?
- How can the friends and families of people who abuse drugs help support them and prevent them from becoming infected with HIV? Do we know of centres where people can be supported as they fight their drug addiction?
- Are there health centres or NGOs which can provide free needles? If not, how can we ask the authorities to make these available? Is the blood used in blood transfusions always checked for HIV? If not, how can we put pressure on the authorities to ensure this always happens?
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