I am Gracia Violeta Ross Quiroga, a 28-year-old woman from Bolivia living with HIV. It was in March 2000, when I had an infection that would not heal, that I went to hospital for tests. I was tested for many different illnesses including HIV. When the HIV test came back HIV positive, I could not believe it. My family did not reject me but received me with open arms, and told me they did not want to know what happened, they just wanted to be with me and support me until the last day. Since I completed my Bachelor's degree, I have been writing publications and giving lectures on gender issues and the plight of PLWHA. The terrible injustices affecting PLWHA in my country, especially against women, encouraged me to get involved.

Read more about Gracia's work, and the work of 20 other young women in a world of AIDS in "If I Kept it to Myself: women intervene in a world of AIDS" here.