Knowledge, Morality and 'Kastom': Sikaids Among Young Yupno People, Finisterre Range, Papua New Guinea‪.‬

INTRODUCTION According to the most recent data, the incidence of confirmed cases of HIV/AIDS in Papua New Guinea has dramatically increased. Nearly two percent of Papua New Guineans are now living with HIV/AIDS (The National 2005b), it rates as the primary cause of death at Port Moresby General Hospital Medical Ward (The National 2005a), and, as stated by the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on HIV/AIDS, between 120 to 150 new cases are diagnosed daily (The National 2005c; cf. Cullen 2006). A significant feature of the situation is that a high proportion of young people aged 14 to 24 are affected by HIV/AIDS, of which young women and teenage girls constitute a particularly high-risk group (Chen 2001:166). (1) In addition, there is the risk associated with unprotected sex among teenagers (Caldwell 2000:14).