Inter Press Service - February 29, 2000
Mithre J. Sandrasagra

"Women are rapidly reaching and surpassing the number of men infected with HIV/AIDS" (human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome), said Wariara Mbugua, manager of the Gender Theme Group at the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

Mbugua's comments were made at the opening meeting of the 44th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), which is also serving as the Preparatory Committee for a Special Session of the UN General Assembly entitled "Women 2000: Gender Equality, Development and Peace for the Twenty-First Century" to be held in Geneva in June.

Carol Bellamy, executive director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), emphasised in her statement that women and girls are most affected by the HIV/AIDS catastrophe.

"A key element in the expansion of the HIV/AIDS pandemic is the fact that women and girls do not have power to successfully negotiate their protection in the face of male power," Bellamy said.

Peter Piot, executive director of the Joint United Nations Programme of HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), said that violence against women has many links to HIV/AIDS. "Violence against women is not just a cause of the AIDS epidemic," he pointed out, "it can also be a consequence of it."

Violence directly heightens the risk of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) when it interferes with women's ability to negotiate condom use.

In many societies, even raising the issue of condom use is difficult as condoms are associated with promiscuity, infidelity, and prostitution.

The summary report of the Women and AIDS Research Programme of the International Centre for Research on Women (ICRW) concludes that "initiating condom use is simply not practical for many women around the globe."

"In South Africa, the notion that violent indignation is an appropriate response to women requesting condoms was so ingrained among a group of migrant workers that an audience of 1,000 men broke into cheers when the male character in an anti-HIV street play hit his wife for suggesting he use a condom," according to the December 1999 Population Reports, a publication released by the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health (JHSPH).

In Africa, infection rates among women now far outnumber those of men. According to UNFPA figures, gender disparities in infection rates are more pronounced in the younger age groups, particularly those below the age of 20. According to JHSPH figures, between one-third and two-thirds of known sexual assault victims are 15 years of age or younger.

These same young girls and women also play the role of the primary caretakers of loved ones suffering from the long-term effects of AIDS.

Hajia A.S. Ismail of Nigeria, speaking on behalf of the Group of 77, a coalition of 133 developing countries and China, told the CSW that the fact that women are twice as likely as men to be affected by the HIV/AIDS virus is a fundamental challenge and a source of deep concern.

Developing countries, especially Africa, are hardest hit by the AIDS pandemic, which has best been described as the "greatest catastrophe in modern history," Ismail said.

"Only partnership and cooperation can effectively manage and control this tragedy afflicting humanity," she said.

Mbugua pointed out that poverty and economic crises have put a particularly heavy burden on women and girls in light of their key roles in families and communities crippled by the scourge of HIV/AIDS.

"AIDS is still too much of a taboo and surrounded by silence in some states," Ambassador Richard Holbrooke of the United States said at a joint meeting of the Economic and Social Council and the Security Council held yesterday.

He spoke of a woman he had met in Namibia who suffered from AIDS in secret, because of the stigma associated with the disease.

In some places, fear of men's reaction has kept women away from voluntary HIV/AIDS testing and counseling.

This has implications for controlling sexual transmission of the disease as well for reduction of mother-to-child transmission.

Silence and ignorance with respect to the HIV/AIDS will inevitably continue to hasten the spread of the disease unless strategies are developed to expand the scope of educational programmes.

Yai Constance, of Cote d'Ivoire, spoke about the advances her country had made in raising the awareness level of the government to women's issues. She emphasised the effectiveness of a massive mobilisation and education campaign focusing on women's health and HIV/AIDS.

Another project, based in Zimbabwe, is focusing on violence against women infected with the HIV/AIDS virus and will educate women about sexual rights and HIV/AIDS, establish support groups for women who have contracted the disease, and offer assertiveness training for women living with the disease.

"Only by investing in poor communities can the AIDS challenge be met, as AIDS disproportionately affects the most poor and disadvantaged in developing countries," say UNAIDS and UNICEF.

Rawwida Bakshsodeen of the Commonwealth Secretariat told the CSW that the fact that millions of women would die this year of HIV/AIDS demanded a "rethinking of strategies for combating the disease."

The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) identified the failure to perceive the issue of HIV/AIDS as having gender dimensions as one of the most harmful oversights in strategic planning to date.

"UNFPA would address the problem by promoting the empowerment of women and girls and supporting preventative activities that responded to their specific needs," Bakshsodeen said.

The World Bank has also provided assistance to over 100 projects in more than 70 countries with women's health components, with the majority of lending focused on reproductive health, including STD/AIDS control. (END/IPS/HE/mjs/ks/00)

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