Knowledge, attitude and beliefs amongst inhabitants of high density informal settlements with regard to sexuality and AIDS in Alexandra township.

OBJECTIVE

The main purpose of this study was to gain information on the knowledge that people living in squatter conditions have about AIDS, their attitude towards this disease and their sexual practices.

METHOD

The study had two parts, in-depth interviews and a survey. The in-depth interviews were held with 68 male informal settlement dwellers to obtain information on the type of questions to ask in the quantitative part of the study, taking into account the sensitivity of the information we were seeking, and how best to phrase these questions. For the survey, the 300 male informal settlement residents who were interviewed, were located by means of systematic sampling techniques.

RESULTS

The results of the survey showed that most of the respondents were living in squalid conditions, without recreation facilities. They were also likely to have had more than one partner (54%). Most of the respondents (90%) had heard about AIDS as a disease. Even though they were aware of AIDS as an epidemic in the country as a whole, they were not convinced that the disease exists in their community, the main reason being that they have never heard about nor seen a person with AIDS in the township.

CONCLUSION

There is an urgent need for AIDS education. But this education cannot take place as a separate activity from other upliftment activities in squatter areas.