Between the cracks: out-of-school youth and discourses of HIV/AIDS

Out-of-school youth are particularly vulnerable to HIV/AIDS due to factors of poverty, lack of employment opportunities, low self-esteem and entrenched notions of gender. Many HIV/AIDS information campaigns are run through schools and, even though high profile prevention campaigns are broadcast through the media, out-of-school youth are beyond the reach of a structured learning environment in which they can discuss and ask questions regarding the information they have received. We investigated not only their views on HIV/AIDS, love, sex and friendships, but also how out-of-school youth talk to each other about these topics and the discourses they utilise. We also asked where they obtain their information on HIV/AIDS and how they respond personally to the challenges of the disease in their communities. Eight out-of-school youths were trained in basic research skills to carry out interviews with 32 other out-of-school youth in the Lamontville and Shongweni Dam areas in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The analysis of their conversations provides a starting point for informing intervention campaigns that address marginalised youth who exist "between the cracks" of HIV/AIDS education.