The Power of Positive

Bayethe Development Institute, in partnership UN Women hosted various HIV/AIDS champions on a TV Show which demystified various issues related to HIV/AIDS. The TV Show will built on its engagement on several interactive online platforms. The show was a 6 by 25 minutes episode series aired on Social Media Channels including Facebook and YouTube, and mainstream TV Channels on DSTV and the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation TV. The content focus was a sequence of deliberate thought provoking, cutting edge and educational conversations with the aim of unmasking contemporary issues faced by women and girls living with HIV on SRHR, SGBV, sex and sexuality. Each episode hosted guest/s drawn from selected sections of the Zimbabwean society including but was not limited to women living with HIV, traditional and religious leadership, civil society, local influential personalities, sex workers and other key populations. HIV and SRHR practitioners who provided expert content consisted of health practitioners, psychologists and nutritionists, among others.

The Online TV Show challenged social norms through diverse interactive and intergenerational conversations which comprehensively unpacked lived realities, perceptions, and curiosities of the audience. This ignited confidence in the different target groups to speak out and about their SRHR issues particularly issues around SGBV and HIV.  This was matched with provision of on spot, accurate and non-judgmental inclusive up to date SRHR information on access to services and rapid response referral pathways in Zimbabwe.

Some of the topics for the Online TV Show which challenged the following norms included but not limited to:

• SRHR conversations are private and should not be discussed publicly.
• Sexual pleasure exploration is promiscuous.
• SGBV surge during Lockdown.
• COVID-19 Lockdown – Are SRHR issues a priority?
• Sex workers are only female.
• Traditional and spiritual SRH practices are evil.