Women's Stories

Svitlana Moroz is a Ukrainian women's rights activist living with HIV. She is one of the founders of the Union of Women of Ukraine Affected by HIV and has coordinated activities for the Eurasian Women's Network on AIDS. In this Take 5, UN Women speaks with Moroz about the importance of women's voices during the 22nd International AIDS Conference and beyond.

For women living with HIV facing violence in Ukraine, lack of awareness, shelters and support services pose additional challenges. Peer-support groups and the National Women’s Forum on HIV, supported by UN Women is bringing awareness, action and new beginnings for HIV women survivors of violence living with HIV.

Baby Rivona is a passionate advocate of women living with HIV and AIDS. Her mission is to guarantee access to treatment, services and a life free of stigma and discrimination for women living living with HIV and AIDS.

Baby Rivona has advocated passionately on behalf of women living with HIV and AIDS in Indonesia since 2005. She contracted the disease herself through drug use, and was shocked by the stigma and the lack of support she encountered, from both her government and wider society.

I am Mariana Iacono, from Buenos Aires, Argentina. I’m a social worker and student of history. I love swimming in the sea if there are no jellyfish. I love reading and practicing sports. I work in education in two high-schools and I’m also a HIV/AIDS activist in RAMVHIS (Network of Women Living With AIDS in Argentina). I’m a member of Fundacion Buenos Aires SIDA and I represent them in a INADI forum. I have a mother and a father who are lovely,...

"I just wanted to make a difference and change women's lives. More women need to be empowered, have a voice and be able to stand up for their rights." Being diagnosed with HIV often leads to social exclusion. Not for Marlyn Cameron. When she was diagnosed in 2010, she took matters into her own hands, and joined the Sunshine Support Group in the Caribbean country of Guyana, a local network that empowers and supports women living with HIV and AIDS...

I am Manisha and I have been HIV+ for the last 8 years. I came to know of my status in 2002 when my husband fell sick. I had not known that he was HIV+. Even when he told me, I did not take it very seriously as I had no knowledge about this disease and took it as a common ailment like TB or malaria. But my husband knew the gravity of the situation. Twice we both tried to commit suicide, but then I decided to take life as it came. My husband died...

I am Muthukani (29 years old). My husband is a driver. He was affected by HIV. I have two children, both girls. My younger daughter is HIV positive. In 2005 at a government ART centre, I was approached by an outreach worker of the Positive Women Network (PWN+). I began to regularly attend support group meetings and receive counselling on taking care of my family's health.

When my husband died because of some diseases related to HIV, I thought I had lost everything. At that time I didn't know about HIV, and my younger child and I tested positive for HIV. When I saw my son was seriously ill with TB, I felt he would die very soon. I didn't know where I would go for medicines and other support. I really got angry with my husband who gave us this disease. My daughter is 'negative,' so I know my in-laws will take care...

Longtime Rising Voices grantee Repacted from Nakuru, Kenya continues its work in surrounding communities using magnet theater as a way to engage the community, and youth especially, through dramatic interpretations that present real-life situations involving health issues such as HIV/AIDS and TB. The members of the Repacted team showcase their role-playing abilities in order to provide awareness and education to the community, but also to...