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Knowledge, Morality and ‘Kastom’: SikAIDS among Young Yupno People, Finisterre Range, Papua New Guinea
Author(s) -
Keck Verena
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
oceania
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.356
H-Index - 25
eISSN - 1834-4461
pISSN - 0029-8077
DOI - 10.1002/j.1834-4461.2007.tb00004.x
Subject(s) - morality , new guinea , face (sociological concept) , sociology , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , gender studies , psychology , ethnology , social science , medicine , epistemology , family medicine , philosophy
This paper investigates the extent of knowledge about HIV/AIDS among young Yupno women and men. Local understanding of sikAIDS is shaped by cultural, moral and religious concepts and processes that are based on social values and practices. Difficulties these young people face in accessing information about HIV/AIDS and using it to implement preventative measures — for example by obtaining condoms — have to be seen in the framework of ‘kastom’ and a moral discourse coined and influenced by the Lutheran Church. As the research shows, there is an urgent need for a broad and contextually sensitive approach to sexual health, including information about conception, family planning methods, and sexually transmitted diseases when planning awareness campaigns for teenagers in rural regions.