Orphans and Vulnerable Children - CRIN

For this activity you will need:

 Flipchart and markers

 Copies of Handout 2

To facilitate this activity:

1 Start the activity by asking the group to first brainstorm the advantages of dividing roles according

to gender. Write these responses up on the flipchart.

2 Then ask them to brainstorm the disadvantages of dividing roles. Spend more time discussing the

disadvantages. Introduce this in a loaded way, in order to elicit some of the discrimination

commonly directed towards women. For example, ask questions such as:

• Do you think there are disadvantages for women in this way of dividing things?


• Do you think these gender roles are fair and equal; or unfair and unequal?


• What are some of the negative effects on women of the way society views and treats boys
  and girls, or men and women?
  These are loaded questions and they should stimulate a good debate on the disadvantages of
  ascribed gender roles. Write participants’ responses up on the flipchart.

3 Give out Handout 2 and go through the list of disadvantages of gender roles for girls and women.

Discuss gender roles in the light of cultural considerations. Point out that cultural customs and

norms may differ from accepted social behaviours and that negative social behaviour (such as

men’s drinking or the abuse of women) are not usually culturally endorsed, and so should not be

automatically socially condoned. Highlight the negative effects that gender roles can have on a

community, especially how these place girls and women at risk, thus promoting the spread of HIV

and further fuelling the problems that lead to the vulnerability of children.

4 Conclude the session by leaving participants with the following two thoughts:

 Girls, especially, are discriminated against on the basis of gender. They are socialised to be

‘servants’ of boys or men. This increases their risk of HIV infection. While gender-based

discrimination affects individual children, it also affects the entire family and society as a whole.

 Everything God made is good; and we are God-made and well-made. We are special not

because we are girls or boys, but because we are all human beings created in God’s image.

The consequences of discrimination against women - major issues to highlight:

• Violence against women, including all forms of coerced or forced sex


• Harmful traditional practices


• Stigma and discrimination associated with AIDS – violence, abandonment and neglect


• Lack of access to HIV/AIDS education, prevention and services for adolescents


• Sexual abuse of girls, lack of control over sexuality and sexual relationships


• Poor reproductive and sexual health


• Neglect of health needs, nutrition and medical care


• Issues of partners not disclosing HIV status (partner notification vs. total confidentiality)
  and thus the practise of unsafe sex.

45 minutes

(^142) Unit 2, Module 1 Guide to Mobilising and Strengthening Community-Led Care for Orphans and Vulnerable Children