HIV & Gender-Based Violence
“AIDS is really a test of us, as a people. When future generations ask what we did in this crisis, we’re going to have to tell them that we were out here today. And we have to leave the legacy to those generations of people who will come after us. Someday, the AIDS crisis will be over. Remember that. And when that day comes — when that day has come and gone, there’ll be people alive on this earth — gay people and straight people, men and women, black and white, who will hear the story that once there was a terrible disease in this country and all over the world, and that a brave group of people stood up and fought and, in some cases, gave their lives, so that other people might live and be free” [6].
Writer and lifelong activist Vito Russo spoke these words in a 1988 speech entitled “Why We Fight,” and 30 years later that day has still yet to come.
For many in the younger generation, the HIV/AIDS epidemic exists finitely — in a time and place a decade following its discovery in 1981, and in men of the LGBTQ community. When the disease made itself known in the U.S., it brought with it discrimination, distrust and apathy. HIV/AIDS was not only a loss of cellular immunity for those it held captive but also a loss of humanization.
Yet, the debilitating disease is very much alive and pervading, moving through people at an alarming rate. It exists and persists in every capacity — every country, every city and every community. It does not solely exist in the bodies of gay men, but also and more often in the bodies of young women and adolescent girls. While the U.S. has been and continues to be heartbreakingly impacted by HIV/AIDS, losing over half a million people to its grasp, the stigma that surrounds the disease in the West exists because of infrequency [1]. It feels uncommon and distant to those who are not directly impacted by it, leaving most of the population with little to no connection with it, while in other communities throughout the globe HIV/AIDS is a normal part of life.
The U.S. only makes up an estimated 3% of the global HIV/AIDS epidemic. As of 2017, the U.S. suffers from roughly 1.1 million infections, while countries in East and Southern Africa suffer from 19.6 million infections [4]. Chief among them are women who are victims of oppression and violent power dynamics that are commonplace and unquestioned. While the disease may vary in strain and impact, the same goes for the way in which a country chooses to address the epidemic. There is no inconsistency in the common denominator of gender-based violence that contributes fiercely to the disproportionate impact of the disease on women. Thus, the means to an end for the HIV/AIDS epidemic is intersectional — meaning that it requires efforts on more than one front, especially as it pertains to gender inequality.
A direct correlation exists between gender inequality and HIV/AIDS prevalence in women. With discriminatory social norms prescribed as lawful practice in East and Southern African countries, it is no surprise that over half of those infected with the disease are young women. Due to the inferior placement of women in cultural, social and economic statuses compared to that of men, women are subjected to forced sexual activity, sex slavery as a means of financial independence, and decisions made for them [3].
In another part of the world with its own struggle with the disease, 35% of all Ukrainian women with HIV/AIDS have experienced violence since a young age [2]. And generally and globally speaking, women who are victims of intimate partner violence are 50% more likely to acquire the disease than women who are not [3]. Gender-based violence through forms of domestic abuse, rape, assault, murder and sex trafficking is a social disease, and like HIV/AIDS, it is not unique to one region or community .
Thus, in order to take a step towards ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic on this World AIDS Day, communities must both recognize and address its intersectionality. UNAIDS is making progress toward ending the epidemic by 2030, and with the help of donations crucial resources can be acquired to fight both HIV and gender-based violence. These resources will help to ensure that mothers can protect themselves and their children from HIV, provide people living with HIV equal access to services, empower women and girls to make their own decisions about their sexual reproductive lives and become less vulnerable to HIV, and prevent stigma and discrimination [5].
Someday, the AIDS crisis will be over, but it is still testing us as a people. Brave groups of people need to continue to stand up and fight for a vision of zero new HIV infections. Head over to the UNAIDS website to learn more about their efforts to combat this crisis by following the link: http://www.unaids.org/en
References:
[1] “Facts and Figures: HIV and AIDS.” UN Women, www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/hiv-and-aids/facts-and-figures.
[2] “Gender Equality And HIV/AIDS.” Women Are Twice as Likely to Be Living with HIV in Post-Conflict Uganda, genderandaids.unwomen.org/en/stories/2018/03/living-with-hiv-and-violence-women-of-ukraine-speak-out-and-build-solidarity.
[3] “Gender Inequality and HIV.” AVERT, Avert, 5 Nov. 2018, www.avert.org/professionals/social-issues/gender-inequality.
[4] “Global HIV and AIDS Statistics.” AVERT, Avert, 8 Oct. 2018, www.avert.org/global-hiv-and-aids-statistics.
[5] “The AIDS Epidemic Can Be Ended By 2030.” UNAIDS, 2016.
[6] “Why We Fight: Remembering AIDS Activism.” Nypl.org, The New York Public Library, www.nypl.org/events/exhibitions/why-we-fight/more.
