Peer Education

Peer Education
While many students may relate more easily to their peers, peer educators are less likely to be equipped with the
depth of knowledge and skills required to deliver effective sex and HIV education independently of any adult-led
intervention.40 Regular turnover of peer educators, together with the sustainability and cost implications for training
and supervision, may make peer education less suitable as the principal mode of delivery of a sex education
curriculum.
Critical refl ection on an unsuccessful HIV and AIDS peer education project in South Africa highlights a number of
important issues in relation to the delivery of peer education in school settings.41 Through the project, 120 young
people aged between 13 and 25 were interviewed on their perceptions of health, sexuality and HIV. Twenty young
volunteers were recruited from the community and received training and information on HIV and other STIs, as
well as participatory learning techniques. They were also provided with condoms for distribution among their peers.
However, when the educators began to implement the programme, they encountered authoritarian rules, didactic
teaching methods, and a negative attitude toward autonomy or critical thinking on the part of students. Firm control
over the peer education programme was held by the guidance teacher and principal. This included scrutiny of activities,
schedules, message content, and access to resources. Furthermore, male pupils dominated the activity and
decisions that were made within the programme, and marginalised and bullied their female counterparts. After a
few months, the guidance teacher summarily dissolved the peer education team. The authors highlight the need to
develop supportive school environments as well as a unifi ed governmental position on HIV and AIDS; to raise community
and parental awareness of the importance of open communication about sex; better understanding of peer
educators’ need to think critically about the issues and messages they are conveying; and the need for materials
that are explicit, focused and promote discussion of the ways in which gender impacts upon sexual health.
There is more evidence to support the effectiveness of adult-led over peer-led programmes. There is some evidence
to support the value of suitably trained peer educators complementing the work of teachers, but there are
serious constraints vis-à-vis scaling-up and sustainability.
In addition to the methods outlined above some schools subcontract specialist groups, such as local NGOs and
networks of people living with HIV, to deliver sex, relationships and HIV education.