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IRIN
HIV-AIDS WebSpecial : GLOBAL CRISIS GLOBAL ACTION
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Gender and HIV/AIDS |
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Gender roles and relations powerfully influence the
course and impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Gender-related
factors shape the extent to which men, women, boys and
girls are vulnerable to HIV infection, the ways in which
AIDS affects them, and the kinds of responses that are
feasible in different communities and societies.
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Gender inequalities are a major driving force behind the AIDS
epidemic. The different attributes and roles that societies
assign to males and females profoundly affect their ability
to protect themselves against HIV/AIDS and cope with its impact.
Reversing the spread of HIV therefore demands that women's
rights are realised and that women are empowered in all spheres
of life.
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Gender-based inequalities overlap with other social,
cultural, economic and political inequalities-and affect
women and men of all ages.
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A variety of factors increase the vulnerability of women
and girls to HIV. They include social norms that deny
women sexual health knowledge and practices that prevent
them from controlling their bodies or deciding the terms
on which they have sex. Compounding women's vulnerability
is their limited access to economic opportunities and
autonomy, and the multiple household and community roles
they are saddled with.
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Men, and especially young boys, are vulnerable too.
Social norms reinforce their lack of understanding of
sexual health issues and at the same time celebrate
promiscuity. This vulnerability is further increased
by the likelihood of engaging in alcohol and drug abuse
and by opting for types of work that can entail mobility
and family disruption (such as migrant labour or the
military).
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| The impact on women |
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In most societies, girls and women face heavier risks
of HIV infection than men because their diminished economic
and social status compromises their ability to choose
safer and healthier life strategies.
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The proportion of women living with HIV/AIDS has risen
steadily in recent years. In 1997, 41 percent of HIV-positive
adults were women. Three years later, that figure had
risen to 47 percent. In sub-Saharan Africa alone, an
estimated 12.2 million women carry the virus, compared
to 10.1 million men.
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Women are often infected at an earlier age than men.
For example, in 1998 most HIV-positive women in Namibia
were in their 20s, while most men carrying the virus
were in their 30s. In some of the hardest hit countries,
girls are five to six times more likely to be infected
than teenage boys.
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There
is growing evidence that a large share of new cases
of HIV infection is due to gender-based violence in
homes, schools, the work place and other social spheres.
In addition, in settings of civil disorder and war,
women and girls are often systematically targeted for
abuse (including sexual abuse). This dramatically increases
their odds of acquiring HIV and other sexually transmitted
infections, and of experiencing unwanted pregnancies.
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Research
has shown that in up to 80 percent of cases where women
in long-term stable relationships are HIV-positive,
they acquired the virus from their partners (who had
become infected through their sexual activities outside
the relationship or through drug use).
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Women
also find themselves discriminated against when trying
to access care and support when they are HIV-positive.
In many countries, men are more likely than women to
be admitted to health facilities. Family resources are
more likely to be devoted to buying medication and arranging
care for ill males than females.
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All
the while, the burden of caring for ill family members
is made to rest mainly with women and girls. As the
impact of the AIDS epidemic grows, girls tend to drop
out of school in order to cope with the tasks of caring
for siblings and ill parents.
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| Coming to grips with the challenges |
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Experience
shows that controlling the epidemic depends in large measure
on communities' and families' abilities to confront the
gender-driven behaviour that increases the chances of infection
for girls and boys, men and women. That, in turn, calls
for strong and coherent national policies, strategies and
plans.
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The
Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against
Women (CEDAW) is a key basis for legal reforms and
other steps aimed at countering the violation of women's
human rights and protecting women who are infected
and affected by HIV/AIDS.
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Comprehensive
prevention and care programmes that take into account
a wide range of social, economic, cultural, and political
factors are more likely to stem the epidemic. Such
programmes should be marked by high-level political
commitment to steps that tackle the gender dimension
of the epidemic in a variety of ways (including legal
reforms, as provided in CEDAW, and national HIV/AIDS
policies, plans and strategies).
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Such
programmes would also ensure that health information,
care and other services are improved and provided
in ways that are culturally appropriate and gender-sensitive.
As important, is the development of sex-specific,
gender-balanced information about HIV/AIDS and other
sexually transmitted infections for different audiences
in different settings (for example, for young people
in and outside school, or for workers at home or in
the workplace).
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Innovative
activities targeting boys and girls are needed to
promote more equitable and mutually respectful attitudes
and behaviour, especially in sexual relationships.
Also needed are targeted anti-poverty programmes that
extend credit and other forms of support to both women
and men in need, as well as measures that address
the special needs of widows and children-headed households.
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The
above information supplied by UNAIDS
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