A total of 425 questionnaire-based interviews and 15 in-depth interviews with FSWs in Nepal including non-participant observation in the field were conducted in 2006. The age range of the FSWs participated was 15-46 years.  FSWs (30.8%) reported having had STI symptoms in presences 12 month.  The quantitative findings suggested that many reported having used condoms during their last sexual intercourse, but in-depth interviews suggested the opposite.  One fifth (21%) had never visited health facilities.  Of those who visited, 149 (50.3%) turned to a private clinic and pharmacy; 181 (61.1%) used Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) clinics, 79 (26.6%) resorted to care in hospital and 30 (10.1%) treated themselves.  The remainder 85 (28.7%) were found to seek help from primary health care centre, health posts, family planning clinic or other health institutions for treatment.  The behaviour theories and models used in this study (i.e. health belief model, theory of reasoned action and planned behaviour) partly explain the decisions of FSW on use and non-use of available health services.  The study identified that lack of confidentiality and privacy created distrust among FSWs and stopped them from accessing health services.  Embarrassment, disregard by health care providers and poor communication with them, long waiting time and fear of exposure as a sex worker were major barriers to seeking health services. It is therefore necessary to provide specific training to service providers in all types of health care institutions in order to promote confidential and quality health services.

The study deals with the abuse of schoolgoing girls as reported by both the electronic and print media. Educators ability to identify those learners in the classroom and the strategies the educators can use to help them cope with their school work. According to a correspondent of the Sunday Sun (2004:19), child abuse victims do not have to identify their attackers in court or even on the TV screen. The constitutional court secured this triumph for the right of abused children. It indirectly found that it would not be unconstitutional for abused children to testify in the absence of the accused. This report and others which refer to school going are a daily occurrence. Some men may spread sexual transmitted disease to girls because of a deep-rooted belief that sleeping with a virgin will heal them from HIV-AIDS. This comment was made by Stephen Lewis, United Nation Envoy on HIV- AIDS in Africa (Komane, 2004:14). Sexual violence and harassment in South African schools erect a discriminatory barrier for young women and girls seeking education. / Prof. C.P.H. Myburgh

This paper examines the prevalence of sexual violence in American media with particular focus on attitudes of sexual violence as a contribution to rape culture. Included is a content analysis of the prevalence of sexually violent lyrics in popular rap music, and a literature review of articles and studies on the effects of sexually violent media. The media discussed in the literature review includes films, television, and pornography. The relationship between the presence of sexually violent media and its impact on public opinion on sexual assault and rape proclivity are analyzed. The literature reviewed includes studies on differences in response to sexually violent media based on gender. Also included are explanation and summary of a study utilizing the excitation transfer theory and the social learning theory as they apply to the understanding of the perpetuation of rape myth acceptance based in the viewing of sexually violent media. These studies utilize the rape myth acceptance scale, the acceptance of interpersonal violence scale, and the adversarial sexual beliefs scale, among other scales of measurement to assess rape myth acceptance and rape proclivity. The high prevalence of sexual assault in the United States calls for an analysis of the acceptance of beliefs that perpetuate sexual assault and the media which support and increase the presence of these beliefs.

Background: The sexually transmitted infections (STIs), chlamydia and gonorrhea, disproportionately affect racial and ethnic minorities. Community attributes like poverty and prevalence of STIs, along with residential segregation and its impact on composition of sexual networks contribute to these disparate rates. The Southeast had the highest rates of chlamydial and gonorrheal infection among the four regions of the United States. Because relationships between race and place can confound national statistics, it is important to examine whether racial disparities within the region are associated with higher rates of infection. Purpose: The study aims to evaluate local geospatial clustering of gonorrhea and chlamydia rates in the Southeast, and their persistence during 2000-2005 and any associations with residential segregation, income inequality, unemployment and uninsured rates, and race. Methods: Using the Local Indicators of Spatial Association tests of spatial clustering, cluster maps were created for each STI outcome and year. Independent sample t-tests were then used to examine the difference in means of each community level variable across counties composing the high-rate clusters and all other counties in the region. Results: Over 60% of counties composing high-rate clusters persisted as high rate clusters over time, and were significantly associated with higher levels of community disadvantage than all other counties (p < 0.01). Overall gonorrhea rates decreased from 2000 to 2005 and chlamydia rates increased, while their associations with community disadvantage remained persistently strong over time. Conclusions: Counties with higher rates of chlamydia and gonorrhea persist over time and experience persistently higher levels of residential segregation and income inequality, as well as higher unemployment and uninsured rates, and higher proportions of blacks in the population. The social environment and segregated sexual networks may play important roles in the persistently high rates of chlamydia and gonorrhea observed for certain regions within the Southeast. Continued surveillance of reportable STIs and their probable predictors is needed in order to better understand the persistent disparities in STI rates across counties in the Southeast.

Using a clinical sample of 63 girls aged 5 - 16 years, the Psychoanalytic Rorschach Profile (PRP; Burke et al., 1988), a measure of drive, ego, and object relations functioning, was examined for differences between sexual abuse (SA) victims and distressed but nonabused (NA) peers. The hypothesis that the SA group would evidence more pathological, less developed levels of drive, ego, and object relations functioning than the NA group was not supported. Limitations of the use of archival data are discussed. The effects of controlling for the number of responses (R) in Rorschach research were examined by comparing entire protocols of a clinical sample of girls from 5 - 16 years of age to shortened versions which included only the first one (N = 89; R = 10) or two (N = 17; R = 20) responses to each blot. Of 12 PRP scales compared, differences between the R = 10 and entire protocols were found on 5 variables, but when R was increased to 20, only 2 differences remained. Support was given for the notion of uniform Rorschach administration in which 2 responses per card are solicited.

Assessing offenders' risk of future violent behavior continues to be an important yet controversial role of forensic psychologists. A key debate is the relative effectiveness of assessment methods. Specifically, actuarial methods (see Quinsey et al., 1998 for a review) have been compared and contrasted to clinical and structured clinical methods (see e.g. Hart, 1998; Webster et al., 1997). Proponents of each approach argue for its superiority, yet validity studies have made few formal comparisons. In advancing the available research, the present study examines systematically the type of forensic case (i.e., sexual violence versus nonsexual violence) and type of assessment method (i.e., actuarial, structured clinical, and unstructured clinical). As observed by Borum, Otto, and Golding (1993), forensic decision making can also be influenced by the presence of certain extraneous clinical data. To address these issues, psychologists and doctoral students attending the American Psychology Law Society conference were asked to make several ratings regarding the likelihood of future sexual and nonsexual violence based on data derived from actual defendants with known outcomes. Using a mixed factorial design, each of these assessment methods were investigated for its influence on decision-makers regarding likelihood of future violence and sexually violent predator commitments. Finally, the potentially biasing effects of victim impact statements on resultant decisions were also explored.

This diploma thesis is focused to the analysis of sexual education on high schools in Liberec region. The most part of the diploma thesis is composed by the questionnaire survey which was perfomed on two comprehensive schools, two secondary schools and two vocational schools. The research attended the students of the third school classes only (18-19 years old). The questionnaire survey was focused to the students knowledge and attitude towards the sexual education. I have defined 9 hypothesis based on the research which were statistically analyzed after that. It appears that the students of comprehensive schools have better knowledges than the students from other secondary/vocational schools and that the knowledges are different among the boys and girls. The congizance of sexual education generally appear as good. The teachers paying attention to this topic during the lessons because they consider the theme important as well as the students. On the other hand the survey revealed that the students did not learn any news during the school lessons in this respect which they know more likely from the Internet. It shows importance to integrate the sexual lessons to the primary schools rather that. Key words: sexual education, contraception, sexually transmitted infection, questionnaire survey.

M.A. / The incidence of child abuse in southern Africa is problematic to such an extent that it is described by Machel (as cited in Richter, Dawes & Higson-Smith, 2004. p. ix) as "an assault, a war upon our children". The numbers and estimates surrounding, not only sexual abuse, but also physical abuse seem to be rising exponentially. This leads to the obvious deduction that adult survivors are also rising exponentially, and as such need focus and care, since the aftermath of abuse is far reaching, impacting every sphere of their lives. Destructive behaviour and thought patterns characterise all aspects of their interaction with the self and others, which paints a bleak and painful picture for their futures. To compound the aftermath, very few studies have focused on aspects beyond the aftermath, few have gone on to explain and focus attention on whether healing can take place, and if so, how it can be brought about. This important source of hope for the survivors has been neglected for far too long, leaving the survivors struggling with the question of whether positive change is at all possible? This study aims to address that question and to focus on the experience of the process of healing. The participants were members of a support group for survivors. A qualitative approach was followed with the focus on conceptual analysis. Two open-ended questionnaires were constructed. The first questionnaire was administered pre-intervention and the second questionnaire post-intervention. As a qualitative study, information is included regarding the researcher's experience, and is interpreted from the researcher's perspective. It was found that growth and change is indeed possible. Participants showed more insight into their behaviour and actions and were mostly able to cease destructive behaviours, achieve positive goals set for themselves, or were at least in the process of changing some aspects they felt needed attention. Due to analysis taking place on a group, as well as, individual level, individual differences became very visible. In this study, those aspects participants still found problematic were also highlighted. It is suggested that those aspects be scrutinised in future studies. A reflection on the healing process also occurred and is viewed as a platform for future studies to build on.

M.Ed. / Sexual molestation is a worldwide evil that affects all aspects ,of a child's humanity. It is stated that one out of every four girls and one out of every nine boys in South Africa are exposed to sexual molestation before they reach adulthood. Approximately 75 % of these molestations are committed by people who are well-known to the child and who occupy a position of trust. A disturbed educational relationship deprives a child of actively participating in his own development. It leaves him with a low sense of self-worth so that he feels negative and overwhelmed by the future. Childhood events have an influence on the developing adult and his future thought- and conduct-patterns. It is postulated that, should traumatic events disrupt the normal life cycle, destructive conduct-patterns develop that are detrimental to the individual as well as the broader community. The intervention of the educational psychologist is therefore necessary to break this destructive pattern. Consequently this research was aimed at learning about and understanding the life-world of the sexually molested child. An exploratory, descriptive, contextual and qualitative approach was followed to compile this information. In this research phenomenological interviews and projective techniques were used to involving six children, between the ages of ten and fifteen who were victims of sexual molestation. After the interviews had been recorded on audiotape and transcribed, and the drawings analyzed, the themes were identified and ordered. The results brought the following manifested experiences to light: shame due to own low self-worth; guilt due to a nagging conscience; fury due to violent conduct and humiliation; anxiety and pain due to fear of repetition and disappointment in mankind; distorted perceptions of the future due to deficient guidance by adults. Guidelines for the guidance of sexually molested children by the educational psychologist are discussed in accordance with the above mentioned themes, while Garbers' educational model is also referred to. It is clear that sexual molestation has extensive implications for its victims. It is however believed that these children can achieve personal insight, true healing and maximum inner potential, through the compassionate guidance of the educational psychologist.

Treponema pallidum ssp. pallidum is the causative agent of syphilis, a sexually transmitted infection characterized by multi-stage disease and diverse clinical manifestations. Treponema pallidum undergoes rapid vascular dissemination to penetrate tissue, placental, and blood-brain barriers and gain access to distant tissue and organ sites. The rapidity and extent of T. pallidum dissemination is well documented, but the molecular mechanisms that underlie this process have yet to be fully elucidated. Tp0751 is a T. pallidum adhesin that interacts with vascular factors and mediates adherence to endothelial cells under shear flow. This dissertation explores the molecular interactions and functional outcomes of Tp0751-mediated vascular endothelium adhesion. The findings presented herein demonstrate that recombinant Tp0751 adheres to human macrovascular and microvascular endothelial cells, including cerebral brain endothelial cells. This interaction is confirmed using live T. pallidum, where spirochete- endothelial cells interactions are disrupted with Tp0751-specific antiserum. Further, the 67 kDa laminin receptor (LamR) is identified as an endothelial receptor using affinity chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry to isolate and identify Tp0751-interacting proteins from endothelial cells membrane extracts. Notably, LamR is a brain endothelial cell receptor for other neurotropic invasive pathogens. Evaluation of endothelial intercellular junctions reveals that recombinant Tp0751 and live T. pallidum disrupt junctional architecture. However, transwell solute flux assays reveal that Tp0751 and T. pallidum do not alter endothelial barrier integrity. The transendothelial migration of T. pallidum can be partially abrogated with an endocytosis inhibitor, implying a transcellular route for barrier traversal. However, a subpopulation of T. pallidum localizes to intercellular junctions, indicating paracellular traversal may also be employed. These findings enhance our understanding of the mechanics of T. pallidum attachment to endothelial cells and suggest that T. pallidum may use both paracellular and transcellular mechanisms to traverse the vascular endothelium without altering barrier permeability. A more complete understanding of this process will facilitate vaccine development for syphilis. / Graduate / 2020-06-18