Washington Post Examines How ‘Sengas’ Use Role as Paternal Aunt To Educate Youth About Safer Sex, HIV/AIDS
The Washington Post on Saturday examined how paternal aunts, or sengas, who "traditionally ushered teenagers into the world of adult sex and love in Uganda's rural villages," have "modernize[d]" their role and have become "sengas for hire." People hire the sengas to speak at bridal showers for about $7, and college students consult the sengas, or "aunties," for about $1 a visit. Recognizing that 45% of the people consulting sengas are adolescents and more than 50% of the time they are asking about HIV prevention, the Ugandan government is writing a guidebook for sengas to standardize their advice and is working to develop a licensing program (Wax, Washington Post, 2/14). The complete article is available online.
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