This trainer’s guide on Sex, Sexuality and HIV Prevention for Women, Men, and Couples was developed by the Southern Africa HIV and AIDS Information Dissemination Service (SAfAIDS) and Seke Rural Home Based Care (SRHBC) of Zimbabwe. It is part of a programme to mainstream HIV and AIDS into cultural practices in order to reduce the vulnerability of women and girls in southern Africa to HIV infection. The guide is designed to assist trainers not only to help participants towards a better understanding of themselves and their sexual partners and towards an appreciation of the vital role that condoms play in maintaining sexual health, but also to address issues of resistance to HIV prevention among couples. It begins with separate sessions for female and male participants and ends with a couples’ session.

According to the publication, the training has been designed around principles of experiential learning. In other words, it has been developed to allow participants to ‘learn by doing’, to gain knowledge and to practice new skills by taking part in as many activities as possible. It contains a variety of methodologies designed to enhance participants’ learning. These include:

• guided discussions on key topics;
• small group work (buzz groups);
• individual exercises;
• brainstorming activities;
• role plays; and
• demonstrations.

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SAfAIDS website on March 12 2009.