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A Positive
Woman's Survival Kit
International Community of Women Living
with HIV/AIDS, 1999
The sexual desires and rights to pleasure of
HIV-positive women are often completely
ignored. As a result, information which
addresses the specific needs of women living
with HIV is scarce. A Positive Woman's
Survival Kit has been produced by and for
women living with HIV/AIDS from all over the
world and coordinated by the International
Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS
(ICW). The first part of the kit focuses
mainly on the voices of HIV-positive women
and addresses topics such as: dealing with a
positive diagnosis; disclosure; staying
healthy; pregnancy, childbirth and
breastfeeding; communicating with children;
relationships; sex and sexuality; grief and
loss; sex work; and human rights and HIV. The
second part consists of fact sheets which
provide information on specific subjects,
including: tips for eating well; reducing
mother-to-child transmission of HIV; drug use
and harm reductions; condoms; and sexually
transmitted infections (STIs).
http://www.icw.org/files/Survival%20Kit.pdf
HIV
Positive Young Women, ICW Vision Paper 1
International Community of Women Living
with HIV/AIDS, 2004
A group of young HIV positive women from
Eastern and Southern Africa met in 2004 to
develop a common advocacy agenda. One of
their major concerns was that young women
living with HIV and AIDS are unable to access
their sexual and reproductive rights, such as
the right to have children, the right to safe
abortion, and the right not to be forced into
termination of pregnancy or sterilization.
The fact that young women living with HIV and
AIDS are often deterred from accessing
services by the judgmental attitudes of
health workers was another priority concern.
Young women may also lack the time, money and
independence to get to clinics, or be
concerned that their confidentiality will not
be respected. The need for meaningful and
active participation of young women living
with HIV and AIDS at all levels of
decision-making is crucial if these concerns
are to be effectively addressed. Several
demands are outlined, made by the young women
themselves, such as the need for continued
access to education for HIV positive girls,
for example by providing flexible learning
times for those earning a living or helping
at home during normal school hours, and
better access to information for positive
women and girls on safe pregnancy,
breastfeeding and abortion.
(Adapted from Siyanda, UK - www.siyanda.org)
http://www.iwtc.org/ideas/11_HIV.pdf
When women
move forward, the world moves with them
The Centre for Development and Population
Activities, 2006
Research tells us that women and girls are
becoming increasingly infected by HIV/AIDS in
countries around the world. But facts and
figures don't tell the whole story. This
addition of WomenLead presents the personal
testimonies of 12 women who are on the
frontlines in the fight against AIDS. These
women from 10 countries came together for a
month-long Women Lead in the Fight Against
AIDS workshop, a programme held at the Centre
for Development and Population Activities in
2005. The stigma of living with HIV prevents
many women from finding out their status, and
HIV positive women who do publicly
acknowledge their status face discrimination
and violence. But the stories also offer
hope, highlighting the determined efforts of
positive women to combat stigma and
discrimination against those living with
HIV/AIDS, raise awareness about prevention
methods, and mobilize communities to support
the care of patients and insist on the
availability of treatment and services for
all. These stories touch on issues of
prevention, care and rights and the various
advocacy approaches of women leaders living
with HIV/AIDS.
http://www.cedpa.org/content/publication/detail/871
Gender,
HIV/AIDS and Stigma: Understanding Prejudice
Against Women Living with HIV/AIDS
National Institutes of Mental Health of
NIH, 2006
Sixty-two men and women between the ages of
18 and 55 from the Khayelitsha Township in
the Western Cape participated in six focus
groups in this study about the stigma
associated with HIV/AIDS. They reported that
HIV/AIDS is seen as a women's disease. This
is not simply because mostly women die from
it, but also because positive women
experience stigma more than men. Norms of
"township masculinity" encourage men to have
many sexual partners and helps them avoid
stigmatization. For women the opposite is
true. In addition, men escape stigma because
their social, economic or physical power is
threatening to those who might stigmatize
them. Women were often seen as responsible
for stigmatizing other women. For instance,
nurses often gossiped about patients entering
health clinics and spread rumors back into
the community. Another key difference for
women is that they are more likely to be
subjected to violence once their partners
know their status. This resource makes
numerous recommendations to reduce stigma
within the family, community and social
services, including increasing awareness
about HIV and introducing laws against those
who stigmatize others. It also includes an
appendix containing many direct quotations
from the participants involved.
(Adapted from Siyanda, UK - www.siyanda.org)
http://www.siyanda.org/search/summary.cfm?nn=2910&ST=SS&Keywords=care%20%26%20
HIV&SUBJECT=0&Donor=&StartRow=1&Ref=Sim
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Taking
action...
Rapid
HIV-1 Antibody Testing During Labor
and Delivery for Women of Unknown
HIV Status: A Practical Guide and
Model Protocol
Centers for Disease Control,
2004
This document offers guidance and
practical tips to clinicians,
laboratory technicians, hospital
administrators, and policymakers who
are planning and implementing a
program for HIV rapid testing during
labor and delivery for women of
unknown HIV status and to provide
the general structure of a model
rapid HIV testing protocol that can
be adapted by staff at facilities
that seek to implement rapid testing
during labor and delivery.
http://www.go2itech.org/pdf/p06-db/db-50720.pdf
Positive
women monitoring change
The International Community of
Women Living with HIV/AIDS, 2005,
updated 2006
This document is a monitoring tool
on access to care, treatment and
support sexual and reproductive
health and rights and violence
against women created by and for HIV
positive women. There are three
sections to this tool: positive
women's knowledge and awareness of
rights and issues that concern them
in access to care, treatment and
support, sexual and reproductive
rights, and violence against women;
the experiences and attitudes of
service providers working in these
three areas; to hold governments and
ministries to account on their
promises, and to advocate on
priority issues using evidence from
both HIV-positive women and service
providers, as well as monitoring the
progress of government
commitments.
http://www.icw.org/node/242
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