- Author
- Luker, Vicki
- Title
- Civil Society, Social Capital and the Churches: HIV/AIDS in Papua New Guinea
- In
- State, Society and Governance in Melanesian Project Working Paper
- Description of Work
- Working Paper 2004/1
- Imprint
- SSGM - State, Society and Governance in Melanesia Project, 30 September - 2 October 2003, 20 pp
- Url
- http://rspas.anu.edu.au/papers/melanesia/working_papers /LukerCivilSocietyFeb04.pdf
- Abstract
"The churches are crucial actors in the response to Papua New Guinea’s growing problem with HIV/AIDS, but often they excite ambivalence. While several have led the way in supporting people affected by HIV, Christianity tends to be identified with teachings about sexuality and an opposition to condoms that many people involved with prevention deplore.
In this paper I try to move beyond the glib assessment that the churches are ‘bad at prevention, good at care’. I frame HIV/AIDS in terms of development, and broadly conceptualise the activities that can affect the course and impacts of the epidemic."