Women's Rights and the HIV/AIDS Pandemic
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Posted By: Tawain Kelly on March 25, 2006 Every day, 7000 women are infected with HIV. A lack of education about proper prevention techniques, domestic violence, and sexual exploitation, including the sex industry, rape, and basic gender inequalities, puts women at risk for contracting HIV. In many ways, these problems take the ability of women to protect themselves out of their own control. According to the UNAIDS Initiative: Global Coalition of Women and AIDS, 10% to 50% of women worldwide report experiencing violence by their partner at least once in their lives. Domestic violence is defined as physical, sexual, psychological, emotional, financial, or verbal abuse. In many developing nations, the majority of HIV+ women are infected by their husbands, rendering many “abstinence only” programs useless. In these societies it is common for men to engage in extramarital relations and contract and spread the disease through those relationships. When married women request that their husbands use condoms though, they face being accused of having extramarital relations themselves and having HIV, or they risk abandonment. In a study conducted by the Global Coalition on Women and AIDS, one woman interviewed reported, “We see out husbands with wives of men who have died of AIDS. What can we do? If we say no to sex, they’ll pack and go. If we do, where do we go?” Sexual violence and exploitation are other major factors in HIV infection among women. While rape is a problem faced around the world, it is an everyday phenomenon in war-torn areas, where it is used as a weapon of war. Rape occurs in refugee camps, where inhabitants live in inadequate and unsafe conditions and where a “community of silence” prevails and in prisons, where guards abuse their position of power and use it as a fear factor. Traditional beliefs and practices also contribute to high rates of sexual abuse and violence. Around the world, kidnapping, forced prostitution, and sex slavery put women in high-risk and dangerous circumstances, from which escaping is often difficult if not impossible. These women, including those who choose to enter the sex industry (due to a lack of economic opportunities, resources, or status), face ongoing violence, exposure to HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and access to little, or no, healthcare. In South Africa, the belief that sex with a virgin can cure AIDS has men raping young girls and even babies. A survey done by the Global Coalition of Women and AIDS found that 20% to 45% of girls in South Africa aged 10 to15 described their first sexual encounter as forced. Other traditional practices, such as “wife inheritance” (when a relative of the dead husband takes the widow as his wife), “ritual sexual cleansing” (when a widow is forced to have sex with a social outcast in order to cleanse herself of her husband’s evil spirits), and the payment of a bride price (when the bride is paid for by the husband’s family and thus is a form of property), also put women at a higher risk of infection. Fighting the threat of HIV infection in women around the world is a major and multifaceted job. It requires not only education and prevention efforts, but also international policies and laws that strictly protect the basic human rights of women. A change of attitudes, beliefs, traditions, and stigmas associated with women and HIV, and a shift in the fundamental thinking about social, marital, and economic equality are also necessary African American communities are being ravaged and attacked by an epidemic of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). At issue is our lifestyle. Although a number of AIDS cases can be attributed to Injection Drug Use (IDU), too many of us – whether gay, straight, male or female – continue to have unprotected sex with multiple partners or people we barely know. The AIDS rate among Black women is three times as high as that among Latino women and 18 times as high as that among White women. Today Black women make up more than half of all women who have died of AIDS. African Americans make up 13 percent of the population, yet we now account for 41 percent of all AIDS cases in the United States. The Harvard AIDS Institute estimates that by the year 2000 more than half of all our country’s AIDS cases will be within the African American community. HIV infection attacks and breaks down the body’s immune system which normally produces white blood cells and antibodies that fight against viruses and bacteria. The infection-fighting cells are called CD4+T-cell lymphocytes. When the T-cell lymphocytes are destroyed, the body’s immune system is no longer able to effectively protect the body against diseases. The infected person is more open or susceptible to illnesses that usually do not affect healthy persons. Dr. David Satcher, the Surgeon General of the United States, states that there are 33.4 million HIV-infected people around the world, and 665,000 in the United States. It is estimated that 50 percent of all new HIV infections in the United States are among people under 25, the majority of these young people are infected sexually. Nearly half (44 percent) of the HIV infections in the age group 13 to 24 were reported among young females and over half (63 percent) were among African Americans. It is important to remember that HIV can be present in the body for up to twelve years without producing any outward signs of illness. Women, because of the structure of the female genital tract, run a higher risk of contracting the AIDS virus from a man than men do from women. That’s why the disease is increasingly transmitted through heterosexual activity and is claiming the lives of African American women at such an alarming rate. Common ways of acquiring HIV infection are: Having unprotected (without a condom) sex with someone who has HIV. Sharing needles and/or syringes used in IDU (injection drug use). A pregnant woman with HIV can give it to her baby during childbirth or while breastfeeding (this does not always happen, however). Blood transfusions. Since 1985, however, people have seldom received HIV from an infusion of blood or blood-products because better safeguards are practiced against such occurrences. a person’s CD4+T-cell count drops below 200, he or she is considered to have AIDS. A healthy person usually has from 800 to 1,200 CD4+T cells. Can birth control pills prevent a person from getting HIV infection?" No. Birth control pills do not protect against HIV infection or other STDs. "I have anal sex with my boyfriend so I won’t get pregnant. Is this a safeguard against AIDS?" No. Anal Intercourse with an infected partner is one of the most common ways that HIV is contracted. Anal sex is very risky whether you are male or female. Empowerment Points AIDS is the second leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 25 and 44. You can decrease your chances of infection with HIV and other STDs (sexually transmitted diseases) by using a latex condom regularly and correctly every time you have sex. Teenagers should learn that alcohol and drugs can cause them to make decisions and do things that can put them at risk for HIV, AIDS, and other STDs. AIDS is claiming and destroying the lives of millions of people. We need to be wise and informed about HIV, AIDS, and STDs for our own sakes and for those we care about. If you or your partner can’t or won’t discuss safe sex, then you should not have sex with that person. After all, it is your health and life at risk. If you enjoyed this article, Join HBCU CONNECT today for similar content and opportunities via email! |
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Tawain Kelly
Freelance Video Photographer , Ty Photography Benedict College class of 2007 Member Since May 2005 |
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