Summits - SBCC and C4D
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Summits - SBCC and C4D
After nearly 28 years, The Communication Initiative (The CI) Global is entering a new chapter. Following a period of transition, the global website has been transferred to the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in South Africa, where it will be administered by the Social and Behaviour Change Communication Division. Wits' commitment to social change and justice makes it a trusted steward for The CI's legacy and future.
 
Co-founder Victoria Martin is pleased to see this work continue under Wits' leadership. Victoria knows that co-founder Warren Feek (1953–2024) would have felt deep pride in The CI Global's Africa-led direction.
 
We honour the team and partners who sustained The CI for decades. Meanwhile, La Iniciativa de Comunicación (CILA) continues independently at lainiciativadecomunicacion.com and is linked with The CI Global site.
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"They have opened our mouths": Increasing women's skills and motivation for sexual communication with young people in rural South Africa

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Phetla, G., J. Busza, et al. (2008). ""They have opened our mouths": Increasing women's skills and motivation for sexual communication with young people in rural South Africa." AIDS Education and Prevention 20(6): 504-518.

OBJECTIVE: Communication between parents and young people about sex has been identifed as a positive infuence on young people's sexual behavior. This article presents fndings from South Africa, where a social intervention to reduce levels of HIV and intimate partner violence actively promoted sexual communication between adults and young people. METHODS: We assessed this component of the program using quantitative and qualitative methods, collecting data through surveys, direct observation, interviews, and focus group discussions.

RESULTS: Women participating in intervention activities reported sexual communication with children signifcantly more often than matched women in the control group (80.3% vs. 49.4%, adjusted risk ratio 1.59 (1.31-1.93). The content of communication with young people also appears to have shifted from vague admonitions about the dangers of sex to concrete messages about reducing risks.

CONCLUSION: The congruence between these fndings and existing literature on parentchild sexual communication suggests that conceptual frameworks and programs from developed settings can be adapted effectively for resourcepoor contexts.