ABSTRACT
Despite a growing body of research that offers nuanced perspectives on sex, love, intimate relationships and the contexts in which they flourish or struggle in Southern Africa, this work is often not translated into safer sex interventions. Additionally, interventions that seek to improve and enhance relationship skills are key to addressing unsafe sexual practices and improving gender-equitable attitudes, and engaging men is core to that effort. This chapter provides a review of interventions that have been implemented in Southern Africa over the last decade that show promise in increasing men’s and couples’ ability to experience healthy relationships, defined as including mutual respect, respectful communication, trust, honesty and equality as well as constructively address sexual pleasure as part of efforts to increase safer sex and promote gender-equitable relationships. Three key themes are discussed: (1) the need for communication skills in safer sex interventions; (2) the need for a gender-transformative approach including the need for male-focused initiatives (or component within interventions) that seek to address harmful gender norms; and (3) the need for more explicit engagement with sexual pleasure as a healthy, normal and positive aspect of sexual intimacy that can help to cultivate gender-equitable relationships.
