Table 3 Strategies to increase gender equity in HIV/AIDS service delivery programs
Comprehensive | Men's participation | Women's empowerment | Incremental |
|---|---|---|---|
Establish a new social consensus that directly addresses the ideology of difference inherent in gender essentialism, and the acceptance of the gender hierarchies inherent in male primacy Target gender power relations and the way in which culture and stereotypes influence unequal sharing of responsibilities On-going public dialogue about and in the sources of gender differences Public policy that stresses gender equality and the sharing of domestic and caregiving responsibility Zero tolerance for the use of stereotypical images of men and women | Promote early, deliberate, and sustained public education and social support regarding the value of caregiving and gender equality Train men and boys to provide care and support Use male role models and recognize men's positive contributions in HIV/AIDS caregiving Focus on engaging men and boys in existing AIDS plans and policies, especially national AIDS plans Improve health systems' capacity to reach men with HIV prevention and treatment services so as to reduce the burden of care Take work with men to scale by integrating a focus on men and gender equality into national programmes and policies that can reach large numbers of men and boys. | Mobilize women's groups and other activists Empower women to effect personal, political and social change Develop critical consciousness to take action against the oppressive elements in one's life, claiming rights, Challenge essentialist notions that unequal gender division of rights and duties is either natural (biological), or God- given or too difficult to change Target gender discrimination patriarchal control of decision-making positions, and patriarchal belief systems Increase access to and control of productive resources Offer comprehensive social protections for women | Involve men in non-personal care tasks or in currently male-identified tasks such as heavy lifting Men and women make small changes in how they as individuals participate in social systems to affect cultural systems in the longer term Recruit men as HIV caregivers |