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90 CHAPTER 4 ■ Love, Sex, and HIV/AIDS

Knowledge Objectives
The initiatives were designed to first provide opportunity and information that
would spark a thoughtful assessment of life choices. For the hombres, that in-
volved encouraging them to (1) question traditional social norms related to
manhood, (2) reflect on the advantages of more gender-equitable behaviors,
and (3) rethink what it means to be a man. Mujeres, on the other hand, were en-
couraged to (1) reflect on gender norms and rights and (2) consider their self-
efficacy and empowerment.

Belief Objectives

Because research indicated that young men generally decide and control how
and when young women have sex, promoting gender equity, with a strong focus
on sexual health, was crucial.
Program H was designed to change traditional beliefs that

• Men should initiate sexual activity early in life.
• Men should have multiple sexual partners.
• Men should maintain control over their female partners.
• Unsafe sex is more enjoyable than safer sex.

Program M was designed to change prevailing beliefs that

• Women should not know much about sexuality, including how to protect
themselves from HIV and other STIs.
• Women should not negotiate protective behaviors with their male
partners, such as condom use or monogamy. (Instituto Promundo,
2008b)

Behavior Objectives
Translating these cultural shifts into new behaviors was the key to both short-
and long-term successes for the programs. Specifically, both initiatives sought to
reduce the number of sexual partners and increase the use of condoms when
both partners agreed to have sex. In the long term, however, Programs H and M
aim to create a culture where both sexes (1) adopt more gender-equitable
lifestyles, (2) make healthy life choices, and (3) build respectful relationships.
Clearly, the overreaching goal of this initiative is much broader than chang-
ing the lives of the individual young men and women who participate in
Programas Hombres or Mujeres. It is an assault on gender expectations that ex-
tends across generations.