The successful development of these

The successful development of these kinds of approaches to tackling vulnerability is likely to require long-term planning
and investment in human and material resources together with innovative evaluation methodologies.
Recognising that knowledge alone is usually insuffi cient to bring about behaviour change, the concept of life skills
has gained popularity and is another approach aimed at reducing underlying vulnerability. Rooted in North American
and European psychology, the notion of life skills is based upon the assumption that unproductive (or completely
absent) behaviours can be replaced with specifi c behavioural skills such as decision-making, communication, or
condom use and that these can be acquired through structured learning.
With a broad generic (i.e. non-sexual) orientation, the adoption of life skills curricula proved popular in settings
where opposition to sex education was likely. So much so that it was incorporated into Article 53 of the United
Nations General Assembly Special Session on HIV and AIDS (UNGASS) Declaration, which requires that young
people have access to information and education necessary: ‘to develop the life skills required to reduce their vulnerability
to HIV infection’. Relevant skills include critical thinking and decision-making, for example, about initiating
or delaying sexual intercourse or negotiating safer sex, including condom use.
While the title ‘life skills’, without reference to either sex or HIV, may make it uncontroversial and politically acceptable,
lack of clarity in terms of defi nition and the absence of an explicit theoretical and evidence base, may leave life
skills open to the broadest interpretation, with the possible result that mention of both sex and HIV prevention are
removed. Also, too narrow a focus upon the level of the individual without consideration of broader contexts and
power relations within these will affect the extent to which young people will be able to utilise various life skills.