Holy Sex Project

This book with voices from pastors and church members, Is a gift to the Christran community meant to Inspire reflection on Sexual and Reproductive Health issues Statistics show that the people with a migrant background in the Netherlands are infected and affected by Sexually Transmitted Infecttans and especially HIV more than the native Dutch population There is also evidence to show that unplanned pregnancies and abortions are a big issue within this population Violence within relationships occur much too often. This should not be the case. We know that knowledge is power and when one knows how to prevent these diseases and destructive behaviours, the next step will be to focus on changing the behaviour that puts one at risk. Within the Christian belief, the boundaries of what can and what cannot ss very clear. There are Christtans who are facing some of the problems mentioned above Others fall victim due to the fact that their partners will have broken the rules. | hope therefore that this book successfully brings the message over; that it ts every individual’s responsibility to know their own sexual health status and to bring it up with their partner. It takes two to Tango. Being a Christian does not wipe away somebody's sexual diseases history Only a test can show 1f one has an infection or not. Also issues such as violence within relatsonships and unplanned pregnancies occur within the Christiaan community and tt is the responsibility of every Christian individual and the community to see how best to address these Issues. Ten Different pastors were interviewed for this book and they have all given their perspectives and approaches on the sexual and reproductive health problems. The church members on the other hand, also gave varying views on the kind of support they expect from their pastors. | hope this book wiil help further the work of pastors in the church in alleviating the sexual and reproductie health challenges among their church members. THE AUTHORS Iris Shiripinda is the Program Manager Ethnic Minorities at the Netherlands national expert centre for Sexually Transmitted Infections and AIDS, Soa Aids Nederland (STI/AIDS the Netherlands). She completed two Masters degrees, in Medical Anthropology (University of Amsterdam ) and in Gender and Development Studies (Institute of Social Studies, Den Haag). She is waiting to defend her Ph.D. title at the Radboud University Nijmegen (RU). Sanne Derks is a lecturer at the Radboud University Nijmegen (RU). She obtained a Ph.D. at the Department of Cultural Anthropology and the Institute for Gender Studies at the RU in July 2009. Her dissertation focused on social inequalities and pilgrimage in Bolivia. She got her Master's degree in the Psychology of Culture and Religion in 2003, also # attheR! 47