What Works for Women and Girls

as young people in this area had little access to television. Results of such approachesshowed a significant change among youth who were highly exposed to the programregarding their attitudes and behavior toward VCT and condom use. The percentage ofyoung men who reported believing that condoms are effective for preventing HIV/AIDSwas 92%, as compared to 73% in the low-exposure group; confidence in correct condomuse was 30%, as compared to 17%; 29% of young men reported having discussed STIs/AIDS with someone in the past year, as compared to 9% of the low-exposed young men;and the percentage of those men with high exposure who had an HIV test in the pastyear was 9%, as compared to 2%. Among females in particular, exposure to the programwas associated with decreased shyness when buying condoms, with 21% reporting notbeing shy, versus 44% in the unexposed group, and an increased perception of personalreproductive health risks, 61% compared to 32%. Eighty-one percent of young femalesin the exposed group reported believing condoms are effective for HIV/AIDS prevention,as compared to 64% of the low-exposed group; 27% of the exposed group reporteddiscussing STIs/AIDS with someone in the past year, as compared to 10%; and 7%had an HIV test in the past year, as compared to 2% of the unexposed group (Neukomand Ashford, 2003). (Gray III) (adolescents, HIV testing, social marketing, mass media,condoms, Rwanda)A social marketing campaign conducted in 2000 in Cameroon targeting nearly600,000 youth with messages promoting the consistent use of condoms among sexually-activeyouth found that both young men and women exposed to the campaign weremore likely to know how to use condoms correctly and were less shy about purchasingcondoms. After an 18-month campaign involving television and radio advertisements,radio shows, radio dramas, a youth newspaper, youth-friendly condom sellers, and apeer education program, 69% of young men with high levels of exposure to the programreported having used a condom the last time they had sex, as compared to just 56% ofthose with low exposure. Confidence in knowing how to use condoms correctly wasreported by 79% of young men and 64% of young women exposed to the campaign, ascompared to 68% and 38% of those with low exposure, respectively. Both young menand young women exposed to the marketing campaign reported being less shy whenpurchasing condoms than those with low exposure to the campaign. Among sexuallyactive young women, program exposure was associated with an increase in condompurchasing, a significant increased perception of personal risk, and greater perceivedsupport from peers for using condoms (Neukom and Ashford, 2003). (Gray III) (youth,social marketing, mass media, condoms, self-perception, sex behavior, Cameroon)A six-month multimedia campaign in Zimbabwe encouraged abstinence for youngpeople with no sexual experience together with condom use and reduction in partnersfor those already sexually active by promoting self-respect and self-control. In thecampaign areas, 97% reported being exposed to the campaign. Youth in the campaignareas reported that they had said no to sex 2.5 times more than youth in the comparisonareas. Youth in campaign sites were 4.7 times more likely to have visited a health center126 CHAPTER 5 PREVENTION FOR YOUNG PEOPLE