Abstract

PIP: An increasing proportion of those infected with HIV are women. During 1995, the proportion of new HIV infections among women worldwide was 39%. Initially, gender differences in HIV/AIDS were assumed to relate to biologic differences. However, it is now believed, for example, that the fact that HIV-infected men appear to have a longer survival time than infected women reflects the tendency for women to delay diagnosis and treatment. To reduce heterosexual transmission of HIV, it will be necessary to provide women with female-controlled prevention methods and to develop programs that consider the sociocultural context in which heterosexual transmission occurs.