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Toward a Just Christian Sexual Ethic for Engaging Young People in the Context of Concurrent Sexual Partnerships

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Toward a Just Christian Sexual Ethic for Engaging Young People in the Context of Concurrent Sexual Partnerships Sex = u + i² : toward a just Christian sexual ethic for engaging young people in the context of concurrent sexual partnerships By Indileni E.S. Hilukiluah Supervisor: Dr Beverley G. Haddad Submitted in partial fulfilment of the degree of Masters in Theology and Development in the School of Religion and Theology, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg November, 2011 DECLARATION I declare that, unless otherwise specifically indicated through the references, this dissertation is entirely my original work. All citations, references and borrowed ideas have been duly acknowledged. This dissertation is being submitted for the degree of Masters of Theology and Development in the Faculty of Humanities, Development and Social Sciences, the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. None of the present work has been submitted previously for any degree or examination in any other University. 06 March 2012 _____________________________ _______________________________ Date Indileni E.S. Hilukiluah i ABSTRACT Concurrency studies reveal that concurrent sexual partnerships (CSPs) increase the rate of HIV transmission. Church programmes on HIV prevention for young people predominantly promote the moral-based message of sexual abstinence before marriage. These key issues motivate this study which seeks to find a Christian sexual ethic for young people aged 15-24 that is underpinned by the principle of justice to facilitate ethical discernment. The study focuses on Southern Africa with particular emphasis on Namibia and the Siyafundisa youth programme of the Anglican Diocese of Namibia. Through non-empirical research, the work of Margaret Farley on “just sex” is employed as a framework of analysis. Farley’s Christian ethic promotes justice in any love or sexual relationship, and suggests seven justice norms. These are do-no-unjust-harm, equality, mutuality, free consent, fruitfulness, commitment, and social justice. The study proposes the SAVE methodology as a holistic approach to HIV prevention that is consistent with Farley’s ethic. Further research in areas such as children’s sexuality and the use of faith communities as agents of a ‘theology of sex’ are proposed. ii DEDICATION Ku meme na tate, ohole yeni oha i penge eenghono na oyo omuenyo wange. Na Imo en Twafs, ‘julle moet verstaan....!!!’ - Dankie vir julle onvoorwaardelike liefde en ondersteuning. Ek het julle baie lief. E nokutja, Twaa-mo! - you hooked me up good with your brilliant ideas and kept me company during my study years. Ondi ku hole Mkwana! To ‘Reverend Father’, dankie vir alles, from the ‘bottomest’ corner of my heart. To all the mkwana’s and ‘digolis’ in my life – ich liebe dich sehr; hug-hug, kiss-kiss & love-love; ondi mu hole amushe! And finally to young people in your traverse toward fulfilling lives as sexual embodied, inspirited beings. Yours is a life of insurmountable challenges in a world which can yield indescribable pain yet in the same beat yield ineffable joy! You are acknowledged. God-is-justice, may you find justice in sex, love, life. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My sincere gratitude goes to my supervisor Dr Beverley Haddad for her continuous support and guidance through my years of study at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. I greatly appreciate the financial assistance from the African Network of Higher Education in Religion and Theology in HIV and AIDS (ANHERTHA), through the School of Religion and Theology and from the Biko Bowcott Trust through the Anglican Church of Southern Africa (ACSA). Gratitude is extended to all the individuals who have gifted me with their support in time, kind, prayer and presence. Furthermore, I am grateful to staff and lecturers of the School of Religion and Theology of the University of KwaZulu-Natal for enriching me with a plethora of academic tools that facilitated the completion of this study. I finally extend my thanks to family, and friends, in particular my fellow residents at the Anglican House of Studies and the house’s director, Dr Reverend Peter Wyngaard. Your support and encouragement through my years of studies is deeply valued. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION i ABSTRACT ii DEDICATION iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv ABBREVIATIONS/ACRONYMS vii Chapter One: Introducing the study 1.1 Young people and concurrent sexual partnerships 1 1.2 HIV and Namibian young people 3 1.3 HIV prevention, young people, and the church 6 1.4 Christianity and sexual ethics 8 1.5 An appropriate Christian sexual ethic for young people 11 1.6 Research process 13 1.7 Outline of the study 15 Chapter Two: Concurrent sexual partnerships among young people as an HIV risk factor 2.1 Introduction 17 2.2 Sex = u + i²: the beginnings of concurrency 17 2.3 Biological plausibility of concurrency: accelerating HIV transmission 19 2.4 The concurrency hypothesis: proponents and dissidents 20 2.5 Concurrency, and young people in southern Africa: some evidence 25 2.6 Concurrency and young people in Namibia 26 2.7 Conclusion 30 Chapter Three: The church: engaging sexual behaviour patterns of young people 3.1 Introduction 32 3.2 ‘Just say no!: Sex, young people and the church in southern Africa 32 3.3 ‘Just say no!: Sex, young people and the Anglican Diocese of Namibia 36 3.4 Siyafundisa and Rutanang: the crux of the matter 42 3.5 The ‘abc’ of HIV and AIDS: moving beyond the ‘ABC’ strategy 43 3.6 Conclusion 44 Chapter Four: Toward defining a just Christian sexual ethic 4.1 Introduction 46 4.2 Christian sexual ethics: Farley’s take 46 4.3 Guiding questions: to facilitate ethical discernment 49 4.3.1 Cultural matters 49 4.3.2 Body matters 52 v 4.3.3 Gender matters 54 4.3.4 Love and desire matters 55 4.4 Subject matter: “just sex” ethic 58 4.4.1 Do no unjust harm 58 4.4.2 Free consent 59 4.4.3 Mutuality 60 4.4.4 Equality 61 4.4.5 Commitment 62 4.4.6 Fruitfulness 62 4.4.7 Social justice 63 4.5 Young people: does “just sex” matter? 64 4.6 Final matter: conclusion 65 Chapter Five: Sex = U + Justice: developing a just Christian sexual ethic 5.1 Introduction 67 5.2 To-justice-yes: sex beyond u + i² 67 5.3 Sexual matters: ‘In God’s Eyes’ 69 5.3.1 ‘In God’s eyes – just culture’ 69 5.3.2 ‘In God’s eyes – the body beautiful’ 72 5.3.3 ‘In God’s eyes – just gender’ 74 5.3.4 ‘In God’s eyes – love and desire’ 76 5.4 ‘In God’s eyes – a just Christian sexual ethic 77 5.4.1 Do no unjust harm 78 5.4.2 Free consent 78 5.4.3 Mutuality 79 5.4.4 Equality 80 5.4.5 Commitment 80 5.4.6 Fruitfulness 81 5.4.7 Social justice 81 5.5 Conclusion 84 Chapter Six: Summary, Implications, and Recommendations 6.1 Summary of the study 85 6.2 Implications: just sex ethic in thought, word and deed 87 6.3 Recommendations for future research 90 6.4 Conclusion 91 Bibliography 93 Appendix 1: Table showing different types of multiple sexual partnerships and the increased risk of HIV transmission 103 Appendix 2: List of resources used in HIV initiatives throughout the dioceses in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa 104 Appendix 3: Diagram of church response to youth HIV prevention using ‘SAVE’ approach 106 vi ABBREVIATIONS/ACRONYMS AAHT Anglican Aids and Healthcare Trust AAP Anglican AIDS Programme ACSA Anglican Church of Southern Africa ADN Anglican Diocese of Namibia AIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome ANERELA+ African Network of Religious Leaders living with or personally affected by HIV and AIDS ARV Antiretroviral CCN Council of Church in Namibia CPSA Church of the Province of Southern Africa CSPs Concurrent sexual partnerships HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus HBC Home Based Care ICT Institute for Contextual Theology IDU Injecting Drug User INERELA+ International Network of Religious Leaders living with or personally affected by HIV and AIDS MoHSS Ministry of Health and Social Services MSM Men having sex with men MSPs Multiple sexual partnerships NGO Nongovernmental Organisation OIAC Organisation of African Instituted Churches vii PMTCT Prevention of mother to child transmission PEP Post-exposure prophylaxis PEPFAR United States’ President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief RCC Roman Catholic Church TIPEEG Targeted intervention programme for employment and economic growth SAVE Safer practice, Available medical interventions, Voluntary counselling and testing and Empowerment Sex = u + i² Sex equals you and I squared STI Sexually transmitted infection TB Tuberculosis UN United Nations UNAIDS Joint United Nations programme on HIV/AIDS UNDP United Nations Development Programme VCT Voluntary counselling and testing WCC World Council of Churches WHO World Health Organisation viii Chapter One Introducing the study 1.1 Young people and concurrent sexual partnerships This non-empirical study seeks to find a Christian sexual ethic that is underpinned by the principle of justice, to facilitate life-affirming decisions by young people whose vulnerability to HIV infection is exacerbated by their participation in concurrent sexual partnerships (CSPs) or concurrency.1 Concurrent sexual partnerships as defined by UNAIDS (2009b:2) “refers to when a person has overlapping sexual partnerships where sexual intercourse with one partner occurs between two acts of intercourse with another partner.”2 Simply, CSPs are “relationships that are closely spaced or overlapping in time,” hence, when one partnership starts before another terminates (MoHSS 2009:17; Kenyon and Badri 2009). Experts have used different time frames to describe and to measure concurrency, ranging from the overlap of one or more partners for a period of one month, six months and twelve months (Mah and Halperin 2010:12; UNAIDS 2009b:3). It must be noted that population surveys often measure concurrency together with other types of multiple sexual partnerships (MSPs) over a twelve month period (UNAIDS 2009b:3).
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