WUNRN
ICASO - International Council of
AIDS Service Organizations
|
|
Gender, Sexuality,
Rights and HIV (2007) |
)
Gender, Sexuality,
Rights and HIV
An Overview for
Community Sector Organizations
" HIV and AIDS continue to be one of the most
challenging developmental issues in human history. In the early days of the
epidemic, HIV was seen as a disease striking mainly men. Today, women account
for nearly half of the 39.5 million people living with HIV worldwide. Of the
3.8 million new HIV infections that occurred among adults worldwide in 2006, 50
per cent were among women. In sub-Saharan
Africa where HIV transmission is predominantly heterosexual, almost 60 percent
of those infected are women. This dramatic rise in HIV prevalence among women
is due to gender inequality and blatant human rights violations. Gender
determines the role and status of men and women that is culturally defined and
carried on through a process of socialization starting from the early stage of
infancy. This creates unequal power balances between men and women and also
determines their unequal access to key resources such as information,education,
employment, and credit. Vulnerability to HIV is also influenced by sexuality.
Stigma and discrimination of certain sexualities leads to their marginalization
and exclusion from mainstream health programs and services. This drives them underground
and makes it difficult to reach them with HIV information and services,
exacerbating their vulnerability to HIV.Too often, the gender- and sexuality-based
determinants of HIV are either completely omitted or de-emphasized by decision
makers and are seldom incorporated into HIV programs. Without addressing issues
of inequality and violations of rights, overall efforts to stem the epidemic
will be futile.
This document developed by ICASO is a resource for
NGOs and CBOs to build greater understanding of how gender and sexuality determine
vulnerability to HIV. The document also highlights major human rights declarations,
treaties and recommendations that can be used by individuals and associations
to advocate for their rights and hold decision makers accountable to their
commitments. This document is a summary of a desk-based review of literature
that examines the factors that contribute to the vulnerability and risk of HIV
infection in men, women, and men-who-have-sex-with-men (MSM). Though other
sexual minorities such as transgender are equally vulnerable to HIV, vulnerabilities
of transgender and other sexual minorities are outside the scope of this
guide."
Link to the Complete guide: http://www.icaso.org/advocacy_briefings.html#gender
Copyright © 2007 by the International Council of
AIDS Service Organizations (ICASO)
================================================================
To leave the list, send your request by email to: wunrn_listserve-request@lists.wunrn.com.
Thank you.