The production of a film that forms part of a prevention project for adolescent pregnancy, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and sexually transmitted infections (STI) in southern Africa is currently underway, having commenced on 31 January.
This was according to Dr Aine Aventin, a vice-chancellor’s fellow at the faculty of medicine, health and life sciences at Queen’s University Belfast (QUB), and co-leader of the project. She is working with Dr Sarah Skeen, a professor at the faculty of medicine and health sciences, and co-director of the Institute for Life Course Health Research (ILCHR), at Stellenbosch University (SU).
The film, If I Were Thabo, is being funded by a R12.5 million research grant from the United Kingdom’s (UK) Medical Research Council, and is due to be released by May 2023, according to Aventin.
“There is a lack of gender-transformative sexual and reproductive health interventions for adolescents in the southern African region,” said Aventin. The project aims to engage with teenage boys on the gender inequalities which cause teenage pregnancies, she said.
The film is intended for adolescent boys in Khayelitsha, South Africa (SA), and Maseru, Lesotho, said Skeen.
“There are very few projects that actually focus on adolescent boys, and try […] to intervene from an adolescent boy’s perspective,” said Skeen.
Dr Sarah Skeen, a professor at the faculty of medicine and health sciences and co-leader of the If I Were Thabo project. PHOTO: Supplied/Dr Sarah Skeen
Dr Aine Aventin , a vice-chancellor’s fellow at the faculty of medicine, health and life sciences at Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) and co-leader of the If I Were Thabo project. PHOTO: Supplied/Dr Aine Aventin
The production process for the film
The film, If I Were Thabo, is based on the UK film, If I Were Jack — a teenage pregnancy, HIV and STI intervention project at QUB, according to Skeen.
The film tells the story of an adolescent boy who finds out that his adolescent girlfriend is pregnant, “and the kind of thoughts that go through his head, the decisions that he makes and things he needs to think about”, said Skeen.
“Because we are taking a UK intervention and transferring it to South Africa and Lesotho, […] we work very closely with adolescents in both [SA and Lesotho] to adapt the program to [the relevant context],” said Skeen.
Consultation groups, consisting of adolescent boys, were formed, said Skeen. The project members presented content, which consisted of the UK film and group-based activities, to the South African and Lesotho adolescents in the same way the content is usually presented to adolescents in the UK, she added.
“We asked the [consultation groups] what they thought of [the content], and we set questions around what they would change if we were going to bring it to South Africa or Lesotho,” said Skeen.
Dr Sarah Skeen gives an example of a change that was suggested by a consultation group in the development of the film, If I were Thabo.
Gender inequality is a “massive driver” of adolescent pregnancy and reproductive health outcomes, according to Skeen.
“The inequality may lie in the fact that the girl has to carry the baby, and the father has the potential or opportunity to walk away,” said Sharon Hershaw, communications manager at Rhenish Girls’ High School.
Gender inequalities that disadvantage women are factors that can play a role in teenage pregnancy. INFOGRAPHIC: Tina Ddamulira