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March 10, 2007 - National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

March 08, 2007

On this day, a coalition including the Department of Health and Human Services, The Leadership Campaign on AIDS, and The Office on Women’s Health seek to raise awareness of the increasing impact of HIV/AIDS on the lives of women and girls. The theme is “Taking Action to Save Our Lives”. There are a myriad of ways women and girls can fight the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Those methods include “getting tested for HIV, practicing safe methods to prevent HIV, deciding not to engage in high risk behaviors, talking about HIV prevention with family, friends and colleagues, empowering oneself, and providing support to those living with HIV/AIDS”.

A Few Statistics

• Data from the 2005 census show that together, African American and Hispanic women represent 24% of all US women. However, women in these 2 groups accounted for 82% (9,641/11,710) of the estimated total of AIDS diagnoses for women in 2005.

• The rate of AIDS diagnosis for African American women (49.9/100,000 women) was approximately 24 times the rate for white women (2.1/100,000) and 4 times the rate for Hispanic women (12.2/100,000).

• In 2004, HIV/AIDS was the leading cause of death for African American women aged 25–34 years and the 4th leading cause of death for Hispanic women aged 35-44 years.

Risk Factors

Lack of Recognition of Partner’s Risk Factors
Some women may be unaware of their male partner’s risk factors for HIV infection (such as unprotected sex with multiple partners, sex with men, or injection drug use). Men who engage in sex both with men and women can acquire HIV from a male partner and then transmit the virus to female partners. In a 2003 report of a study of HIV-infected people (5,156 men and 3,139 women), 34% of African American men who have sex with men (MSM), 26% of Hispanic MSM, and 13% of white MSM reported having had sex with women. However, their female partners may not have known of their male partner’s bisexual activity: only 14% of white women, 6% of African American women, and 6% of Hispanic women in this study acknowledged having a bisexual partner. In another CDC survey, 65% of the young men who had ever had sex with men also reported sex with women. Women who have sex only with women and who have no other risk factors, such as injection drug use, are at very low risk for HIV infection (CDC, unpublished data, 2006).

High-Risk Heterosexual Risk Factors
Most women are infected with HIV through high-risk heterosexual contact. African American and Hispanic women account for over 80% of the reported heterosexually acquired cases of HIV/AIDS. Lack of HIV knowledge, lower perception of risk, drug or alcohol use, and different interpretations of safer sex may contribute to this disproportion. Relationship dynamics also play a role. For example, some women may not insist on condom use because they fear that their partner will physically abuse them or leave them. Such sexual inequality is a major issue in relationships between young women and older men. In a CDC study of urban high schools, more than one third of African American and Hispanic women had their first sexual encounter with a male who was older (3 or more years). These young women, compared with peers whose partners had been approximately their own age, had been younger at first sexual intercourse, less likely to have used a condom during first and most recently reported intercourse, or less likely to have used condoms consistently.

Biologic Vulnerability and Sexually Transmitted Diseases
A woman is significantly more likely than a man to contract HIV infection during vaginal intercourse. Additionally, the presence of some sexually transmitted diseases greatly increases the likelihood of acquiring or transmitting HIV infection. The rates of gonorrhea and syphilis are higher among women of color than among white women. These higher rates are especially marked at younger ages (15–24 years).

Substance Use
An estimated 1 in 5 new HIV diagnoses for women are related to injection drug use. Sharing injection equipment contaminated with HIV is not the only risk associated with substance use. Women who use crack cocaine or other non-injection drugs may also be at high risk for the sexual transmission of HIV if they sell or trade sex for drugs. Also, both casual and chronic substance users are more likely to engage in high-risk behaviors, such as unprotected sex, when they are under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Socioeconomic Issues
Nearly 1 in 4 African Americans and 1 in 5 Hispanics live in poverty. Socioeconomic problems associated with poverty, including limited access to high-quality health care; the exchange of sex for drugs, money, or to meet other needs; and higher levels of substance use can directly or indirectly increase HIV risk factors. A study of HIV transmission among African American women in North Carolina found that women with a diagnosis of HIV infection were significantly more likely than women who were not infected to be unemployed; to have had more sex partners; to use crack/cocaine; to exchange sex for money, shelter, or drugs; or to receive public assistance.

Racial/Ethnic Differences
The rates of HIV diagnosis and the risk factors for HIV infection differ for women of various races or ethnicities—a situation that must be considered when creating prevention programs. For example, even though the annual estimated rate of HIV diagnosis for African American women decreased significantly—from 82.7 in 2001 to 61.4 in 2005—it remained 20 times the rate for white women. Overall, the rates of HIV diagnosis are much higher for African American and Hispanic women than for white, Asian and Pacific Islander, or American Indian and Alaska Native women. The rates for African American women are higher than the rates for all men except for African American men.

Multiple Risk Factors
Some women infected with HIV report more than 1 risk factor, highlighting the overlap in risk factors such as inequality in relationships, socioeconomic stresses, substance abuse, and psychological issues. For example, in the North Carolina study of HIV infection in African American women, the participants most commonly reported that that their reasons for risky behavior were financial dependence on male partners, feeling invincible, low self-esteem coupled with the need to feel loved by a male figure, and alcohol and drug use.

Source: HIV/AIDS among Women, Center for Disease Control and Prevention website
http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/women/resources/factsheets/women.htm.

For additional information about The National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, please visit: http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/nwghaad.htm.

Message from CDC Director, Dr. Julie Gerberding (CDC HIV/AIDS Podcast)
http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/resources/video/gerberding_nwghaad_long.mp4

Posted at 10:26 AM by Shantrie in the HIV & AIDS category/ies.