“The community is not on the girls’ side”

Rise clubs are helping adolescent girls and young women start conversations about HIV and sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Khayelitsha is one of South Africa’s largest townships, situated in the Cape Flats in Cape Town, South Africa.

As is the case in many other communities in South Africa, women and girls in the semi-informal settlement deal with gender inequality on a daily basis, which puts them at higher risk of HIV infection.

Gender inequality is a barrier for adolescent girls and young women to access HIV and sexual and reproductive health services and comprehensive sexuality education. It also places girls at higher risk of gender-based violence.