Peer educators’ responses to mistrust and confusion about HIV and AIDS science in Khayelitsha, South Africa

Rubincam, Clara

Peer educators’ responses to mistrust and confusion about HIV and AIDS science in Khayelitsha, South Africa

Working Paper

2014-08-30

Publisher

University of Cape Town

Department

Aids and Society Research Unit

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Series

CSSR Working Paper Series ; 353

Abstract

Peer educators are on the front lines of communication between sources of scientific authority about HIV and AIDS and target populations. This study focuses on a group of peer educators from the Treatment Action Campaign working in Khayelitsha, South Africa (n=20), highlighting perceptions of their treatment literacy activities and the challenges faced in these encounters. In order to maintain clients’ trust in themselves and their information about HIV, they employ various “rhetorics of persuasion”, including accurate mobilisation of biomedical facts, personal testimonies, and figurative language such as parables and metaphors. These tactics build on community members’ everyday observations and experiences and draw from peer educators’ own credibility and trustworthiness as TAC members, and as members of the community. This paper draws attention to the ways in which peer educators’ personal agency and judgement are brought to the task of peer education, as well as the implications for future programmes using treatment literacy to advocate on behalf of biomedical facts about HIV and AIDS.