Why is it important to look at issues for HIV-positive women separately from HIV-positive men?
Women are still the main carers and homemakers around the world so they often have little time for political meetings and it is assumed that “a woman’s place is in the home…” For HIV positive women the challenges are even greater – coping with their own illness, facing up to the prejudice of others around them, including other women. Yet the great majority of HIV positive women never thought they were at risk of becoming HIV positive, and those that did felt powerless to protect themselves from the virus. Women also find it harder to access treatment because they put their children and husbands first. Too often, the medical establishment does not take into account the different ways that HIV and medication affects women and men.
Women are still the main carers and homemakers around the world so they often have little of the time needed for political meetings and it is assumed that “a woman’s place is in the home…” For HIV positive women the challenges are even greater – coping with their own illness, facing up to the prejudice of others around them, including other women. Yet the great majority of HIV positive women never thought they were at risk of becoming HIV positive, and those that did felt powerless to protect themselves from the virus. Women also find it harder to access treatment because they put their children and husbands first. Official figures show that more women than men attend public health treatment centres – but the data do not enquire what happens to those women and their treatment when they go home. Women are often feeling the need or are being put under pressure to share their treatment with children or with their patners. We have also seen that the medical establishment does not take into
