Daunting

Selected survey data from a presentation I attended yesterday on attitudes and behaviors related to HIV/AIDS in Zambia:

• 44% of Zambians and 43% of Africans from the region (about 10 countries in southern Africa surveyed) believe that HIV/AIDS is punishment for sinning; down from 61%/56% in 2002.

• 44% of Zambians/31% of those in the region believe that forcing sex with their partner is NOT rape; down from 51%/40% in 2002.

• 23% of Zambians/17% of those in the region experienced partner violence in the last year; 33%/17% in 2002.

• 26% of Zambian youth aged 12-17/20% of those in the region reported being forced to have sex at some point in their lives; down from 30%/25% in 2002 Interestingly, in Zambia the reporting was equal for boys and girls, with 26% of each group reporting being forced to have sex.

• 50% of Zambian adults/40% of those in the region would still have sex if their partner refused to use a condom; down from 53%/42% in 2002.

• 65% of Zambian adults who have non-regular sex partner(s)/64% of those in the region do NOT always use a condom with their non-regular sex partner(s); UP in Zambia from 43% in 2002 and down slightly from 67% in the region.

Lots of methodology questions on this survey, and I'm not attributing the good changes in some areas to our programs in any way, but eye-opening for sure. I'm ashamed to say I don't have a sense of what similar numbers for U.S. adults and youth look like for your comparison, but these are certainly still pretty significant.