Popayan is a lovely city in southern Colombia that has managed to preserve its Spanish colonial style monuments. However, despite its dynamism and cultural heritage, Popayan is located in an area affected for many years by the ongoing internal conflict. Displaced people had no alertnative but to move to Popayan or to other Colombian urban areas where they have been living in precarious conditions for a very long time.
Blanca was among the first inhabitants of the district made up of wooden houses with very basic water and sanitation facilities. The year-old mother of three had to leave her village in the Cauca region because of the conflict and she is still waiting to be able to go back or to move to a better place.
It is in this highly vulnerable environment that Colombian Red Cross volunteer Sofia Bedoya and her colleagues come to the shanty town to do another outdoor HIV prevention session. Even though the session is opened to everyone, it is meant to sensitize mainly women who are a group particularly at risk because of the difficult environment.
The district is affected by gang violence, mostly related to drug trafficking. The difficulty for women to manage their own sexuality is further complicated by the fact many husbands leave for several weeks because they cannot find a job in Popayan. While they are away, men often go with sex workers and, on their return, their wives risk being infected with HIV.
Most people come from rural areas and have very limited knowledge about sexuality and do not have access to birth control methods. But the prevention session is much more than just distributing condoms. It is also an opportunity to inform people, listen to them and answer their questions and concerns. How to convince the husband to wear a condom if it is clear he is seeing other women while he is away?
