This paper presents an overview of information on socio-economic and gender inequalities in the knowledge of HIV/AIDS prevention. The information, based on an analysis of household data collected by the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) program, concerning poor-rich coverage and gender differences for twenty-three countries, focuses primarily in Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. The findings suggest that knowledge of HIV/…
FAS organized a workshop on the theme "Linking AIDS to Women's Peace Advocacy" from April 3-7, 2000. The workshop took place at the OAU Conflict Management Center in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It drew together women from Africa to consider the issues of gender and HIV/AIDS in peace advocacy in the continent. The publication explores the nature of the epidemic and the lessons that can be learned from the workshop.
Individuals interested in youth development are considering programs that integrate attention to reproductive and sexual health with a focus on livelihood options, which aim to improve young people's capabilities, assets, and activities necessary for earning a living. Given the critical gap in assessment of the few such linked programs, ICRW undertook an 18-month analysis of these programs in India, Colombia, and Kenya. The goals of this…
This report provides new insights about the complexity of addressing men's and women's needs in an equitable fashion. It underlines the importance of having well organized reproductive health services that integrate family planning with sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevention programmes, including HIV/AIDS. It proposes programme directions, suggests programme indicators, discusses programming considerations, and informs about innovative…
The International Community of Women living with HIV/AIDS (ICW) developed a project encouraging HIV positive women in Zimbabwe to share and document their own experiences of living with HIV, particularly in relation to their sexual and reproductive health and needs. Documentation of these experiences are intended as an advocacy tool for changes in policies and practices that would improve the reproductive and sexual health choices available…
This document is a product of the meeting on power in sexual relationships, convened in Washington, DC, l-2 March 2001, and was a joint effort of the Population Council's New York and DC offices and the USAID Interagency Gender Working Group's Men and Reproductive Health Sub-committee. Eight previously conducted field-based interventions have provided valuable information and an overwhelming message highlighted in the dialogue: - many men and…
Human rights have been central to the international community's response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. This approach initially emphasized the inclusion of, and non-discrimination against, particular risk groups. However, as the epicenter of the epidemic has moved from the first to the third world and from (gay white) men to (poor black) women, the rights emphasis has begun to shift from a focus on individual rights of privacy and non-…
The expert group meeting in 2000 reviewed the topics of HIV/AIDS, gender, human rights and human security and their inter-linkages. The meeting discussed the basic rights to be addressed in this context and adopted a number or recommendations for immediate action and specific recommendations addressing particular actors and areas of concern. This document is a summary of key issues involved in promoting human security and human rights in…
This collection of documents consists of a three part series that addresses three different topics related to HIV/AIDS. The initial document consists of the introduction and the existing research framework. The first section, on young people and risk-taking in sexual relations, consists of a set of studies that presents a comparative analysis of data collected in Africa, Asia and the Americas. This is followed by a comparative analysis of data…
This report focuses on the challenges in the protection of those involved in sex work and discusses the key elements of various interventions. It explores the many issues involved in providing care and support for sex workers, preventing entry into sex work, and reducing risk and vulnerability through programmes at the individual, community and government levels. It addresses successful HIV/AIDS prevention and care strategies and outlines…
This report focuses on one crucial aspect of adolescent reproductive rights in Zimbabwe: the right to access dual protection methods and information. The "right to access dual protection methods and information" is a component of a broader set of internationally recognized reproductive rights, including the fundamental rights to reproductive self-determination, to non-discrimination, and to reproductive health care. The report documents legal,…
A microbicide, a product used vaginally to prevent infection, would offer the potential for women to protect themselves and their sexual partners from HIV and other STIs. This document presents the case for microbicides by discussing recent progress and developments, and notes outstanding challenges and the action required to accelerate research and development and to ensure that products will be made available to those who most need…
Approximately one year after the start of the female condom social marketing program in Zimbabwe, the Horizons Project and Population Services International conducted a descriptive, cross-sectional study of female condom users, male condom users, and non-users of either barrier method. The goal of this research was to increase understanding of the patterns and dynamics of female condom use in order to inform policymakers and program…
This brief brochure outlines why HIV/AIDS is a gender issue, and that although HIV is taking its toll on everyone, women are impacted more. It indicates some key steps that can be taken to address this. It provides positive examples of how women are responding to the epidemic.
This publication contributes to understanding how the world's foremost blueprint for women's human rights can be put to work to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic from a gender perspective. The publication discusses different aspects of the pandemic for which CEDAW has special relevance, such as gender-based violence and sexual exploitation, access to health services, gender inequality and safer sex, and issues of care and care-giving. The book also…
This report describes research conducted on issues of HIV/AIDS-related discrimination, stigmatization, and denial in central and western Uganda in 1997-98. The report describes the aims, methods, and findings of the research, with a particular emphasis on the forms and determinants of DSD and the responses to it. The research moves beyond previous research on DSD and in contrast, aims to offer an account of how DSD operates, and what causes…
The International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) and the Center for Social Development Studies (CSDS), Hanoi, are investigating the causes, manifestations, and consequences of HIV-related stigma and discrimination at the community level in Vietnam. This research explores the community context in which HIV-related stigma occurs and the extent to which the stigma associated with injection drug use and sex work intersects with that of people…
One critical achievement of the UNGASS was the inclusion of some language within the Declaration promoting the health and rights of women and girls in the context of HIV/AIDS. The paper argues that although the Declaration fails to explicitly address the broader concept of reproductive rights or the need for governments to provide comprehensive reproductive health care services, the Declaration makes clear the inextricable link between gender…