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  • Title: [Street children and AIDS in Haiti].
    Author: Bernier M, Ascensio P.
    Journal: Sante; 1995; 5(2):125-30. PubMed ID: 7780668.
    Abstract:
    This study is a qualitative inquiry KAP about sexuality, and adoption and preservation of safe sexual behaviors, among the children of the street in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Three groups of participating children of the street were observed in Port-au-Prince for three months, during June through August 1991. The information was collected with the use of pre-tested charts for each theme chosen. Then, individual interviews were conducted with leaders identified among the educators and children of the street. One of the main goals of Aids educational programs of street children should be to make them believe in the existence of the disease, and the real risk it poses for death. The strategies that we will use to convince them should deal with the different social, psychological, economical, and environmental factors that characterized the children as follows: 1) their adherence to a peer group and the relationship of power between the older and younger children; 2) the fundamental importance of money in their life, and that all relationships that they have are based on the capacity of people to give them something, such as money; 3) the role of their social appearance and their need to behave like other children for even one day; 4) their low self-esteem; 5) their feeling of powerlessness and resignation related to their living conditions; 6) the influence of the street culture; and 7) their understanding of sexuality as an immediate pleasure.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS) In Haiti, observations of 70 boys, 6-17 years old, living in the streets of Port-au-Prince and interviews with 10 key informants were conducted so researchers could learn the knowledge, attitude, and practices of the boys concerning sexuality and sex behaviors. The street children were observed at the airport parking lot, the Madankolo bus station, and the market in the rich quarter of Port-au-Prince. They did not use condoms. They did not feel that they would develop AIDS or any illness. They perceived AIDS as only a long-term fatal disease less dangerous than other daily events. Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) indicated sex with prostitutes, which elevated their social stature among street children. They had insufficient knowledge of the cause, transmission modes, and prevention of HIV infection. They had poor self-esteem. They did not value or protect their bodies. They perceived the condom as being imposed by the outside. The group was unstable, transient, and without a charismatic leader. It had an authoritarian leader who was not well respected. A boy with whom another boy feels comfortable may be a vehicle for HIV prevention messages. The link unifying two friends is greater than the link to the group. Sex with men was a quick way for the boys to earn money. The boys preferred heterosexual relationships. The boys have adopted a street mentality to survive in the street where life is always dangerous, violent, and geared towards acquisition of goods or money. When designing an AIDS/STD education program, one must address the following: the importance of money as a tool for social validation, the emotional forces of the street child which made him grow up quickly, his very developed survival instinct, and violence of which he is a victim and which he practices.
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