14th International AIDS Conference Barcelona, Spain - July 7-12, 2002

Int Conf AIDS 2002 Jul 7-12; 14:(abstract no. E11486)

Ekpo E
Media, Lagos, Nigeria

ISSUE: once considered at the periphery of the aids epidemic women are becoming infected with hiv faster than any other population group at the rate of 5,000 women a day. for biological socio-economic and cultural reasons, women are particularly susceptible to hiv/aids. marginalisation, discrimination, alienation and other impediments to the development of women's full potentials are factors that contribute to their increased vulnerability to hiv infection.

DESCRIPTION: various initiatives have been put in place to integrate gender awareness into programmes designed and implemented to support efforts to raise awareness about the risk to women on aids, increased resources have been devoted to mitigate the impact of hiv/aids on women. the media is one of the structures expected to facilitate these awareness creation activities.

LESSON LEARNED: regrettably however, the media which is expected to be an agent of social change continue to project a negative and degrading image of women. rather than be an ally of women as far as media focus on aids is concerned, the media have failed to explain the peculiarities of women's problems in order to encourage the society to appreciate them. conclution: media focus on aids tends to reinforce attitudes, which often portray women as vector of aids and other stds. the media are responsible for perpetuating and stereotyping women as sex objects. this presentation will cover the epidemiology of hiv infection in women in nigeria, factors that fuel the epidemic in women. the role of the media in reporting gender issues and aids and the key challenges that face the media in assisting to reduce women's vulnerably to aids.

020707
E11486

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