Are there especially vulnerable groups within the military?
Young, unattached men are a highly susceptible group both inside and outside the military. Typically, the young recruit on a weekend pass has both the time and motivation, particularly under the influence of peer pressure, to indulge in high-risk behaviour. However, there are other groups within the military whose vulnerability should be addressed. The increasing participation of women in the military in various parts of the world underlines the special vulnerability of women to STD and HIV transmission. Women are more likely to acquire any kind of STD from a single sexual exposure than men, and to have more asymp-tomatic STDs that are difficult to diagnose. (For more information, see UNAIDS Point of View Reducing women s vulnerability to HIV infection .) Female military personnel are often at a disadvantage in sexual negotiations, including those for condom use. They are also subject to sex under duress and sometimes to outright rape. The fact that in the military there are men who ha
