Volume 35, Numbers 1 and 2, March and September - Special Issue on
Women, HIV/AIDS and Human Rights Sponsored by UNESCO, New Delhi.

HIV/AIDS and Adolescents - Some Issues and Concerns from India
Sanghmitra S. Acharya and Rajib Dasgupta

This paper locates the adolescents in India as a group with un adressed and unmet unique needs with particular significance in the background of the spreading epidemic of HIV/AIDS. Adolescents are likely to engage in high-risk behaviour due to lack information about sexuality and risk of infections and the means to protect themselves from such infections. Therefore preventing infection and creating awareness regarding the infection among young adults and its direct prevention is important and critical for slowing the epidemic. India is now home to more people with HIV/AIDS than any other country except South Africa. HIV prevalence in population aged 15-24 ranges between 0.8% to 1.0%. More than half of all new infection occurs among people under 25 years of age. While on the other hand they are susceptible to HIV infection, on the other they are capable of changing their behaviour to reduce risk. Adopting a rights-based approach, the paper explores the all-round needs of adolescents in general and those of sexuality in particular. An in-depth analysis of contemporary and relevant policies has been undertaken in the context of adolescents. A small field study of the Jaunsari Tribes of Uttaranchal has been incorporated to demonstrate the key issues.

Key Words: Adolescent, Sexuality, HIV/AIDS, Uttaranchal, Risk behavior.

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