'Half the sky" is dark: Women and HIV/AIDS

'Half the sky" is dark: Women and HIV/AIDS

Not 'those women' any more; it's all women

Women, as the Chinese proverb observes, are "half the sky." Unfortunately, they are also now half of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing faculty members in Baltimore are exploring avenues to more effective, community-based prevention and treatment of HIV in women. Among their findings:

Community-based work in the U.S. and South Africa highlights the central role intimate partner violence and other forms of sexual violence have in the transmission of HIV to women. Hopkins' researchers are finding these types of violence increase women's risks of contracting and dying from HIV/AIDS, whether in countries where HIV is readily diagnosed and treated, like the U.S., or in nations with significantly fewer health resources, such as South Africa.

Overall, women need more knowledge about HIV presented in ways that engage them, enlighten them, and empower them.