Navigating Risk Situations Faced by Filipino Youth: Learning to Say “No” through Theater for Development on HIV

Abstract

The Philippines is one of the countries with the fastest growing number of HIV cases in the last decade. Among age groups, the highest increase in the proportion of cases from 2013–2023 were among 15–24 years old. Because the issue of HIV often overlaps with social and moral discourses, it has often been regarded as a sensitive topic in the country, creating a culture of silence and propagating a norm of passivity that leave vulnerable groups such as the youth in the margins of discourse. Arts-based educational tools such as Applied Theater are used outside the formal education setting to open opportunities for discussion on the topics of HIV, sex and sexuality. However, studies on the use of Applied Theater for HIV in the Philippine context documented in academic literature appear to be scarce. To contribute to the literature on HIV prevention and Applied Theater, and explore the experiences of Filipino youth related to sex, sexuality, and HIV in the context of the Philippines, this study raises the following questions: (1) What are the factors that drive young people into risk situations? (2) What skills did the young people learn in the workshop that could help them in these risk situations? (3) How did they use what they have learned to navigate these risk situations to protect themselves from HIV? Data were gathered from two three-day Theater for Development on HIV (T4DHIV) workshops in Cavite, Philippines. This study discovered
that young people consider sexual curiosity and peer pressure as the main drivers that lead them to risk situations. To protect themselves from HIV, young people used their refusal skills to avoid relationships or situations they do not want to participate in. This act allows them to regain their agency to express themselves and let their voices – that have been silenced by culture and norms – be heard.