Sunday Times (Johannesburg) - April 30, 2006

The scourge of our times is, of course, Aids. Not so long ago it sounded like a mythical disease, something that afflicted unknown, faceless people. Later, it was perceived as a disease that afflicted only homosexuals.

But now almost everyone knows someone who has contracted the virus, or someone who has died from illnesses related to it. It can be a friend, a family member, a neighbour, a colleague.

The misery, the destruction that this monster has left in its wake has inspired renewed energies in research in pursuit of cures, or interventions that will curb its spread.

As pointed out last week in this column, in times of desperation we find ourselves compelled to try anything to protect ourselves from the universal scourge.

Experimentation is our hope in combating the disease that is threatening the existence of the human race. One of our readers, a Dr Cyril Khanyile, correctly pointed out in a letter that "any group, community or society has not only a right but also a duty to defend itself against perceived or real threats to survival, be it natural [or] man-made ... Africans have every right to use any product they see fit to use, tested or untested".

But sometimes we get too desperate. One is perhaps becoming too judgmental by using the expression "too desperate", but there ... I've said it and it's only an opinion.

A story landed at the offices of the Sunday Times this week that gives occasion for me to have yet another take on the measures that we as a nation, and as the human race, are adding to our arsenal in combating Aids.

A Durban-based Christian outfit, as part of the necessary and commendable efforts that this nation is taking to combat and prevent HIV infection, has embarked on an interesting project.

Under this sex education programme, children as young as eight are made to sign a pledge to abstain from having sex. Now, we have a problem. Or at least I do.

It is true that our children, through television, the Internet and mass communication in general, are exposed to images of sex, or innuendos thereof, at a far younger age than previous generations.

It is true that their imaginations run far wilder than those of previous generations as a result of the stimuli that populate their environment.

It is also true that it is our duty to explore all avenues in trying to protect them from infection; sex education not only protects them from infection, but also curbs the possibility of early and unplanned pregnancies.

It is my humble submission, as a parent who has a seven-year-old daughter, that such a pledge would be too burdensome and befuddling to an eight-year-old child.

Absorbing information related to her subjects at school is enough; to be assailed by a pledge - a very adult concept on its own - would be too heavy.

The nobility of the intentions behind this intervention cannot be underestimated. We are all looking for answers, experimenting with interventions, but this kind of pledge is way too extreme.

If the same pledge were to be applicable to children in their mid- to late teens, it would probably make sense. Their minds are more mature; and there's a modicum of seriousness in whatever they do.

They are beginning to appreciate that every action results in a reaction. They are beginning to understand the concept of responsibility, the concept of their actions resulting in consequences.

But I don't think one has to be a specialist in child psychology or behavioural science to appreciate that an eight-year-old is too immature to be burdened with this kind of pledge.

Virginity-testing inevitably hovers on the horizon as we explore many of the measures being taken to prevent the spread of the scourge.

Understandably, some communities have experimented with virginity-testing as yet another measure of preventing Aids infection.

Unfortunately, this age-old tradition among some sectors of the African community has backfired. It is woefully unreliable. Some girls who were tested and found to have lost their virginity have been ostracised for their status, which, in many cases, was not their own doing. Many were victims of rape; others broke their hymens in innocent activities like sport, or were born without them.

All these measures being experimented with further underscore the urgency with which the pandemic is greeted.

But as we proudly express our seriousness in coming up with solutions, we do stand the danger of overreacting and expending our energies in measures way too extreme, measures that might boomerang on us.

And I humbly submit that foisting a pledge upon an eight-year-old child is one of these extreme measures that might backfire and leave permanent psychological and emotional scars on our beloved children.

Let us work hard at seeking answers and solutions, but let's tread with due caution.

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