1. HIV/AIDS Prevention Strategies Temptation and Free Will Postgraduate Conference The Story of Why I am Here: Questions and Methods in Gender Research 4 November 2009 University of Hull Laurie Lynn Kelly Laurie.Kelly@hull.ac.uk

2. Temptation and Free Will Because I wanted to talk about free will, I spoke to Michael Peckitt from the Philosophy Department at the University of Hull. He suggested that I learn something about Sartre. Sartre said to be born is to have the responsibility to make choices. All have free will so all must make choices. All do not have equal power, however. There are several write and draw exercises below. In them, the young people communicated their HIV/AIDS prevention strategies below. How do temptation and free will influence the choices in young people’s lives, relevant to HIV/AIDS prevention? What might be revealed about the influence of gender on free will?

3. Most of the 11-14 year old Tanzanians’ strategies included at least one, and more often several of the following elements: Living right and keeping busy Avoiding careless sex Resisting temptation Avoiding risk Having sex if the right conditions are met Being faithful Self-protection Refraining from sex Using condoms Avoiding sharp things (non-sexual transmission) Getting an HIV test Advising and being advised

4. Males and females generally agreed on the elements of HIV/AIDS prevention. While males and females both wished to ‘avoid temptation’, they had different understandings about how to avoid it. Identity and free will influenced those understandings. If you wish, provide thoughts and observations about why there are gender differences involved in avoiding temptation. That can give me additional ways of thinking about it.

5. To defeat HIV/AIDS, my strategies are not to agree to temptations, not to have careless sex, to disagree with bad advice. My strategy is to make intentional progress. That is the defeat of temptation. I intend to be brave in order to defeat the temptation of getting infected with the HIV/AIDS virus. Male

6. Some parents tempt their children to sell themselves in order to get money for food. I ask them very, very much not to do that to their children nor to send them at night or at midnight. The time to send them is the morning. Female

7. Male My strategy to protect myself from HIV is to take part in sports. This strategy helps to remove the state of little thoughts about the whole question of making love…. Therefore this strategy helps a great deal to reduce the longing of wanting to participate in temptations that can take me to, that can lead me to concern myself with questions of love affairs.

8. Boss: Fadhili, come here. I am calling you but you do not want to come. What are you afraid of now? If you refuse I will drive you away from work. Go, but do not come back to my home. Maybe do not come back to seek work again. Fadhili: I am going home. I will not come back again to work in your home. Better you drive me away from work than do those things. I cannot go on every day, suffering. I am going home. Female

9. Not me. Hey, let’s get high. Leave him. He’s a mama’s boy. Male

10. Do not let a person deceive you with sodas or money or anything, nor a house. Avoid the back streets at night. Female

11. Conclusions Males and females do exercise free will in avoiding temptation. Gender roles and other aspects of identity, such as their status as children or students, can influence the kinds of choices that they can make. The write and draw exercises did not cover questions such as: If society encourages females to attribute sexual desires to males, how do they manage their own sexual desires? When the young people leave school, how do they manage temptation as their identity changes? How will the young people manage temptation and risk in sanctioned relationships such as marriage? Thank you.