Africa: Women, the Silent Bearers of HIV Burdens. 29/7/10
When it comes to HIV, silence suffocates the women of Sub-Saharan Africa.
Amanda Wheat
29 July 2010
When it comes to HIV, silence suffocates the women of Sub-Saharan Africa.
Most women will not learn that they are HIV positive until it comes time to seek prenatal care. They will make the sometimes seven-mile trek to the nearest clinic for pregnancy related issues and return to their villages with the burden of a deadly disease. Knowing the negative stigma associated with HIV, many refuse treatment and thus pass the virus on to their unborn child.
Nazneen Damji, Program Manager of Gender Equality for the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), told MediaGlobal, "When you have unequal power relations, it becomes harder for women to declare their status simply because of social norms that dictate that women are meant to be good and innocent. They just can't talk about issues related to sexuality and sex."
Over 60 percent of the adult populations in Sub-Saharan Africa with HIV are women. But because the disease is tied with a cultural connotation of amoral behavior, these women will keep their condition a secret from even their closest family members.
Women are also burdened by the stigma of being primary caregivers. For those who chose to take on the cultural risk of seeking treatment, more challenges lay ahead. Clinics are not accessible to most rural villages; women must find others to care for their children while they make the journey. Furthermore, when monetary challenges of feeding a family are already exceedingly difficult, it is unlikely there will be money left over to pay for HIV treatment.
A recent report released by UNIFEM cited lack of public knowledge as a key issue regarding gender and HIV. With a disease that is so taboo, it is no surprise that there is little discussion surrounding causes and treatments. Meanwhile, medical caregivers are not trained to address the cultural implications of the disease and rarely take these barriers into account when treating patients.
Damji said, "In hospitals in rural Nigeria for instance, there are lots of derogatory statements made toward women waiting to gain HIV treatment. You're a sex worker, you're a bad women, etc. There are very few privacy standards set to protect women from these verbal abuses."
UNIFEM set up a test protocol within one such hospital where specific rights and obligations to cultural sensitivity where built into a written code for hospital workers.
"We had great success with this protocol as a method of awareness. When people understand what is driving the epidemic, it becomes a lot easier to raise awareness on how to treat patients with confidentiality, sensitivity, and understanding," said Damji.
Experts insist it is imperative that women become a part of future policy conversations. The UNIFEM study highlighted ten key strategies for making women a part of policy. Among them was the recommendation to form democratic and transparent processes for providing support and investment into women-led HIV/ AIDS initiatives and organizations.
Damji stated, "The number one thing is to involve those who are directly affected by the epidemics. If you have a national aid strategy, you have to include women who are living with HIV. They must be sitting at the table when programs and policies are written up."
But can written policies and advanced protocols really change deep seeded cultural norms? If policies can address a widespread understanding of the unfair cultural labels placed on women with HIV, they might be able to begin breaking down the walls that prevent women from gaining knowledge and treatment.
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