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This issue of Global AIDS Link from the Global AIDS Council
examines the impact which HIV and AIDS are having on young girls. It
examines the factors, such as poverty, gender norms and cultural
practices, which are making girls particularly vulnerable to HIV.
The publication includes reports from a range of countries and
regions, including Zimbabwe, China, East Africa and Latin America.
The most recent data on HIV in sub-Saharan Africa shows that in
the age group of 15-24 there are eights times as many girls as boys
contracting HIV. The biological vulnerability of women to HIV
infection is made worse by poverty which forces young women and
girls into early marriages and to engage in transactional sex (sex
in exchange for money, food or services). The articles in this
publication also show how recent economic upheaval in countries such
as China and Argentina has contributed to an increase in young women
becoming HIV positive. High levels of sexual violence against girls,
discrimination which denies girls access to education and cultural
practices in some parts of Africa, such as female circumcision and
early sexual initiation, are among the other factors examined in
these articles. The authors recommend that governments take action
to protect young girls who are vulnerable to sexual violence and
ensure that girls have equal access to education. They also
recommend measures, such as the development of social clubs and
groups, that can empower girls and young women, along with
supporting indigenous action aimed at changing cultural values and
behavioural practices.
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