NPR recently
published a story announcing that HIV/AIDS has become the top killer of women worldwide. The statistics are staggering: In Swaziland, over half of women 25-29 are infected with the virus. Nearly half of the adults who tested positive for the disease in 2007 were women.
The World Health Organization says that it's because women are more vulnerable to the disease, not only because of genetics, but also because of historic gender inequality. Many women who have contracted it get it as a result of sexual assault or pressure from partners who don't want to use a condom.
HIV/AIDS awareness and research has skyrocketed over the years, though. From the 1980's where it was largely considered a "gay" disease with a president who refused to acknowledge the killer until a very famous actor announced his infection to 2009,
where South Africans see an HIV+ Muppet on their Sesame Street equivalent, I want to believe that as women, we could be smarter and that men would respect our bodies and wishes for protection.
HIV/AIDS testing is available on many college campuses as well as local health departments, Planned Parenthood locations, and doctors offices may also be equipped for the test. Click
here to find a testing center near you.
Have you ever been tested for STD's? Do you force your partner to wear protection, or do you know their status? What do you think of children being exposed to an HIV+ positive Muppet on the
Street?
Comments (10)
I love the Muppet idea.
My school has a Sexual Health Forum that provided free HIV testing. I got tested and came out negative.
HIV is really not all that much discussed where I live at. I'm not saying it's scarce or anything, it's just not discussed.
I've been tested twice and I do ask my partners for their sexual history. My last SO took it upon herself to get tested before I even asked. I thought that was pretty cool.
I was actually helping my friend with updating an HIV information site the other day.
In Swaziland, sex is encouraged. Multiple partners, after dinner, before dinner, as soon as you wake up. It's considered more important than eating. Of course they're going to be disease-ridden.
Aside from that, Swaziland is in Africa.
Africa is an STD itself.
Women in poorer countries reproduce more.
i've been tested twice, and i ask the people i do have sexual relations with to also get tested and if they don't then i don't go any further. even though i'm on bc, i still have the guy wear a condom.
Even wearing a condom is not surefire. Abstinence is for the win.
I rarely wear condoms, but I've been tested although not in years I should probably be tested again. I had my last gf get tested and she made me get tested too I think, well I got tested on my own right before I met her so it didn't matter anyway. Just like 90% of the guys I know I dislike wearing condoms, never had a girl ask me to wear one, though if she did I wouldn't mind.
@JusticeCho@xanga - Condoms do suck, though we know they are pretty necessary if you wanna practice safe sex. However, we are much less likely to wear one if we trust the person or are committed. I just want to ask you this - if a girl never asks you to wear a condom, at least to ask even if you don't do it, doesn't it kinda raise a red flag? It would make me think, how many other guys did she fuck without a condom? If a guy doesn't suggest using a condom at least the first time we fuck, I can see his routine, and that he apparently doesn't normally use them. Which makes me wonder...
@JusticeCho@xanga - I think I've only ever been with maybe one or two girls who've had more than 2-3 partners before me. One of the two who had had a lot more asked me to wear one (actually didn't ask, but it just came up and I think I brought it out on my own). The other girl I knew for a few years so I kinda trusted her...kinda. If it was a random girl I would def wear one.