Human rights is a US problem, too: the case of women and HIV

Abstract

Overall, US AIDS incidence and mortality have shown significant declines since 1996, probably because of new antiviral therapies. For women, however, these benefits have been much less pronounced than for men. At the heart of women's HIV risk is gender-based discrimination, which keeps women, and especially women of color, poor and dependent. Although human rights issues are often linked with AIDS issues abroad, in the US they receive insufficient attention in our response to women's HIV risk. Advocacy from public health professionals is needed to overcome the longstanding paternalistic attitudes of federal agencies toward women and to change the paradigm of women's HIV/AIDS prevention and care. Examples of unjust and punitive social policies that may affect women's HIV risk include the 1996 welfare policy legislation, drug treatment policies for women, and women's access to medical research and technology. The overriding public health response to AIDS consists of behavioral interventions aimed at the individual. But this approach will not successfully address the issues of women with AIDS until efforts are made to eliminate society's unjust and unhealthy laws, policies, and practicles.