Family Life and HIV Education: Myths, Stereotypes, and Facts

MYTHS	FACTS
Abstinence can damage the reproductive organ	Abstinence does not damage the reproductive organ. Total abstinence offers 100% protection against unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections including HIV.
A boy/man cannot take care of a baby	Care for a baby is not restricted by gender. A boy/man is capable of taking care of a baby.
A real woman should be submissive at all times	There are times when a woman needs to be assertive and say “no” if the situation is harmful to her well-being.
Girls and women should not inherit properties	Gender should not determine one’s right to inheritance. A woman should not be discriminated against because of her gender.
Having sex is the way to prove you love your boy/girlfriend	No one should be pressured to have sex. If your boy/girlfriend loves you, he/she will respect your decision to wait. Sex can complicate relationships.
A girl who exposes her body or wears tight-fitting clothes and gets raped deserves it.	No! Attracting attention is not an invitation to rape. Real men don’t rape.
It is rude to push your opinion forward when discussing with an adult	Young people’s voices matter. If you have a different opinion, express your opinion respectfully
A real man must be physically tough	A real man does not need to prove his manhood by his physical strength.
A woman should not further her own education past her husband’s educational level	There is nothing wrong if a woman decides to further her own education past her husband’s educational level.
Girls and women cannot say “No”	A girl/woman has the right to say no to any kind of unwanted approach.
Boys and men should not let it show when their feelings are hurt	Boys/men are human beings. Therefore, they should be able to express their feelings appropriately without judgment.
It is okay for a man to hit his wife if she disagrees with him	It is never okay for a man to hit his wife.
A man should never do housework	Doing housework does not make you any less of a man.
Boys should go after what they want, even if it means hurting other people’s feelings	Nobody’s ambition is worth hurting another person.
Having sex with a virgin will cure AIDS	False. There is no cure for AIDS.
A girl cannot get pregnant from having sexual intercourse only one time	False. Once the male sperm (in the semen) makes contact with the female egg, pregnancy can occur. The only way to not get pregnant is to avoid sexual intercourse.
Girls with small breast are not capable of breast feeding babies	The size of the breasts does not affect the production of milk. As long as she does not have an hormonal imbalance for milk production, she should be able to breastfeed babies.
Washing the vagina/taking concentrated salt water after sexual intercourse will prevent pregnancy	False. Sperm cells travel very fast through the vagina and cervix and cannot be washed out. Salt water does not have any effect on the sperm cells. Once a sperm cell has made contact with an ovum, pregnancy occurs.
Having sexual intercourse will reduce menstrual pain	False. Menstrual pain is caused by various factors including intense contractions, narrow cervix, and infection. Having sexual intercourse does not reduce the pain associated with these factors.
If a man pulls out a penis before he ejaculates in the vagina, a woman cannot get pregnant	False. Before a man ejaculates, he produces pre-ejaculatory fluid known as pre-cum. This fluid contains sperm cells that can fertilize the egg and cause pregnancy.
You cannot get a sexually transmitted infection, including HIV, from someone you know very well	HIV is not discriminatory; anyone can be infected. Abstinence is the only 100% way to avoid getting an STI and/or HIV.
A boy should always be given priority to be educated when resources are scarce	All human beings have equal rights, irrespective of their gender. Gender equity should be a priority in allocating resources.
The father should be the sole provider of the family’s needs (e.g. paying of school fees, for house rent)	The father does not have to be the sole provider. A woman can also support to meet the needs of the family. This is the case in many families in our country today.
Female genital cutting (circumcision) makes a girl less corrupt	Female genital cutting is a harmful traditional practice and violates a girl’s human rights.
A woman should live with/tolerate some violence from her husband if it keeps the family together	It is wrong for a husband to physically threaten or harm his wife in any circumstance; when violence takes place in the home, it is called domestic violence.
Men don’t get raped	False. In the majority of rape cases, the male is the offender and the female is the victim. However, men and boys are raped too. Men can be raped by other men; and women can also coerce or pressure men or boys into performing sexual acts that they do not desire.