2ND NATIONAL CONFERENCE TO PROMOTE THE REDUCTION OF HIV/AIDS AND GENDER BASED SEXUAL VIOLENCE PROMOTED BY VULNERABILITY AND STIGMA AMONG FEMALE BAR WORKERS IN KENYA
_______________________________________________________
1. Event Title: 2nd National Conference on HIV/AIDS and Gender Based Sexual Violence among Female Bar
Workers in Kenya
2. Dates: Monday, October
27th – Tuesday, October 28th 2008
3. Venue: Safari Park Hotel, Nairobi
Kenya
4. Conference Organizers: The Kenya Bar Hostess AIDS Programme and Purple Images Productions
5. Conference Partners:
- The National Aids Control Council (NACC)
- East African Breweries Ltd
- Kenya Human Rights Commission
- Federation of Women Employers Kenya (FIDA)
- Maendeleo Ya Wanawake
- Hivos Netherland
6. Special features of the conference
- Award to Bar Hostesses who have performed exemplary work in HIV/AIDS and Sexual Violence Against Women
- Special media coverage of the conference
- Educational and Cultural performances by Bar Hostesses
- Video shows on the problems facing Bar Hostesses
- Launch of Bar Hostess Union / Bar Workers Cooperative Union
- Customer Care Training for Bar Hostesses
7. Conference Brief:
In Kenya today, there are currently over 40,000 bars employing an average of 4 bar hostesses. This makes a total of over 160,000 bar hostesses countrywide. A simple survey conducted in Nairobi by Kenya Bar Hostess Aids Programme in 2003 showed that about 90% of the bar hostesses are sexually active with multiple sexual partners. The rate of infection and exposure to sexually transmitted infections including HIV/AIDS is therefore higher than the national average. Assuming of the 90% of the 160,000 Bar Hostesses nationwide, 80% of them are exposed to the virus, this translates to 5.2% of national average of people living with HIV/AIDS being bar hostess. This is a very high percentage considering that bar hostesses are just 0.5 % of the total national population.
The Kenya Bar Hostess Aids Programme and Purple Images Productions consider this a big risk to the bar hostesses and believe that the only way to combat this is through targeted behavior change communication and economic empowerment to reduce the need for commercial sex. With regard to sexual violence, bar hostesses are socially stigmatized and discriminated. Most bar patrons regard bar hostesses as third rate citizens and often as mere sex objects to be abused. The bar hostess profession is socially stigmatized by health officials and the police in particular are known to harass bar hostesses as either “disease carriers or criminals.’ A majority bar hostesses have found themselves exposed to all forms of Sexual Violence including forced and unprotected sex and physical Sexual Violence from their supervisors, employers, the police and even their clients and partners. Apart from the forced sex, some bar hostesses are daily physically assaulted and raped while others voluntarily have one or more sexual partners in one day.
8. Conference Objectives:
 To provide a forum for Bar Hostesses to share experiences, challenges and lessons learnt on HIV/AIDS
prevention and management and Sexual Violence against women.
To impart life skills among bar hostesses to enable them address issues that promote the spread of HIV in
the context of their high risk environment.
To address social stigma and discrimination among bar hostesses affected and infected with HIV/AIDS and to promote care and support for bar hostesses living with HIV at the community level and to promote their participation in the care and support activities for their colleagues and AIDS orphans in the targeted communities.
To promote the creation of alternative economic empowerment opportunities such as income generating activities to mitigate the spread of HIV/AIDS among bar hostesses
To draw recommendations and the way forward for strengthening and expanding the role of bar hostesses in the prevention of gender Sexual Violence and HIV/AIDS
9. Conference Presentation Topics:
Stigma and Discrimination
Behavior Change Communication
Bar Hostesses and Sexual Violence
Reproductive Health and Reproductive Health Rights
Women’s health and safe motherhood
Drug abuse and Bar Hostesses
The social economic impact of AIDS among Bar Hostesses
Commercial sex and HIV Infection
Income generation projects as an alternative to poor employment terms and commercial sex
10. Conference Costs
Bar hostesses will come in free but must register in advance.
Accommodation scholarships to rural Bar Hostesses needing support to participate in the conference will be provided at a cost of Ksh 1000 per person which also includes an out of pocket allowance at Ksh 500 and return bus fares. Lunch and refreshments for conference delegates will also be provided.
Local
delegates to pay Kshs 8,000, while Internation delegates
will pay Kshs 10,000 per person which will cater for
meals and materials.
To be part of this great event, please register by
completing the form below. Payment of the participation
fee stipulated above is required to guarantee a slot
in the limited places available. This fee covers lunches,
teas & conference materials. Click
here to register
To participate as an exhibitor during the conference,
Click
Here to register
Registration of delegates and the stakeholders is
in process. There is a technical committee to receive
and review abstract papers from the presenters and
workshop facilitators. After reviewing the abstract
papers on the different themes of the conference,
the final list of the facilitators and delegates will
be made and sent to the donor alongside the final
conference programme.
To submit abstract papers Click
Here to register. Delegates are more
than welcome to add more conference topics into the
existing list.
DO NOT BE LEFT OUT. REGISTER TODAY!
If you need more information please Click Here to contact us
All correspondence should be emailed to the attention of:
Ms. Sylvia Micho. or Patrick Kiarii
The Conference
Coordinators
2nd National Conference on HIV/AIDS & Gender Violence among Bar Workers in Kenya Secretariat
Mbuchia House, 3rd Flr, West Wing, Westlands, Nairobi, Kenya
P.O BOX 58182 - 00200 Nairobi
Telephone: 254-20-4450937/ 4452674
Cell: 0720 210819/ 0722 634947
Email: purplemedia2000@yahoo.com or
Please note: Conference Delegates will be short listed on a first-come first-served basis.
CONFERENCE PROGRAMME
2ND NATIONAL BAR HOSTESS CONFERENCE
ON HIV/AIDS IN KENYA
VENUE: KENYATTA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE CENTRE, NAIROBI
DATE: 29TH-30TH AUGUST 2008
_______________________________________________________
DAY 1
|
ACTIVITY |
PRESENTER |
8.30- 9.00 A.M |
Registration of participants |
Purple Images and Kenya Bar Hostess Aids Programme. |
9.00-
9.15 A.M |
Welcoming Remarks & Objectives of Conference |
Mr. Muchiri-
Director Purple Images
|
|
|
|
9.15
- 10.00 A.M |
Opening Address |
Martha
Karua
Minister for Justice
and Constitutional Affairs |
10.00 -10.30 A.M |
Keynote Address: |
|
10.00-
10.30 A.M |
TEA BREAK
|
10.30
- 11.30 P.M |
Commercial
Sex and HIV Infection |
Professor Ngugi |
| |
|
|
11.30
- 12. 30 P.M |
Stigma
and Discrimination |
Asunta Wagura
KENWA |
| |
|
|
12.30-
1.00 PM |
Exchange
Forum |
Plenary |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
1.00-2.00 P.M |
LUNCH BREAK
|
2.00- 3.00 P.M |
Drug
Abuse & Bar Hostess |
NACADA |
| |
|
|
3.00- 4.00 P.M |
Behaviour
Change Communication |
Mr. Chacha Matiko-
LICASU |
| |
|
|
4.00 - 5.00 P.M |
Reproductive
Health and Reproductive Health Rights |
|
| |
|
|
5. 00 - 5.30 P.M |
TEA BREAK AND END OF DAY 1
|
|
