Episode Details

In South Africa’s HIV epicenter, young women aged fifteen to twenty-four face staggering risk—not just from biology, but from entrenched gender inequality, violence, and alcohol’s role in blurring consent and enabling unsafe sex. New research using data from the My Journey program reveals that while alcohol use correlates with sexual violence and unprotected sex, it doesn’t directly cause HIV infection—highlighting how deeper social forces drive risk. For these young women, alcohol is woven into daily life as social currency, often exchanged for sex in unequal relationships. Ending HIV here demands more than condoms or personal responsibility—it calls for transforming environments, dismantling power imbalances, and confronting the violence that thrives in these intersections.

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