Half of SA youth not using condoms

A staggering 52% of 15- to 24-year-olds have reported to never have used condoms with their most recent partners in the past year, nongovernmental organisation Right to Care has said.

“Nearly a third of all new HIV infections in South Africa occur among 15- to 24-year-olds, and adolescent girls are up to eight times more likely to be infected with HIV than their male counterparts,” said Dr Marnie Vujovic, paediatric and adolescent psychosocial programme manager of Right to Care.

“There are worrying levels of sexual coercion, age-disparate relations, violence and high rates of teen pregnancy,” Vujovic said.

According to the Human Sciences Research Council, black African females aged between 20 and 34 have an HIV prevalence rate of 31.6%, and almost a quarter of all new infections occur among young women aged 15 to 24.

Read the article online