Are women more vulnerable to HIV infection than men?

With the global HIV epidemic, women all around communities have been affected by HIV. There are women who constitute more than half of all of the people living with HIV, which involves HIV and AIDS-related illnesses which can remain the leading cause for the death of the women. Young women in the ages of 15 and 24 are somewhere there is a disproportionate number of new HIV infections.

In the year 2007, around 7000, adolescent girls and young women became HIV positive. There is a far higher rate than the new infections which among young men are twice as likely to acquire HIV as their male peers. Regions like Eastern Europe and Central Asia, which has been driven by unsafe injections drug use where people have been disproportionally affected, and the population of women seem to be on the rise.

Why are women in the risk of HIV?

HIV can disproportionately affect women and girls because of their unequal culture, social and economic status in the society. There are many intimate partner violence which has a lot of laws revolving around the practices which reinforces the unequal power dynamics between men and women, which has its own disadvantage.

HIV has a lot to do with women facing significant barriers to accessing healthcare services. These barriers can occur at the individual, interpersonal communities and societal levels. There are many barriers which can take many forms which includes things like denial, which can help one access the female sexuality to have a poor quality of service.

The procedures that are relating to the women’s sexual health which can be performed without consent. They are generally subjected to a lot of forced sterilisation and virginity examinations and forced abortions. The healthcare providers also do not understand the laws around childbirth and HIV. This is one of the main reason when HIV positive women choose to have an abortion which can be the result of misinformed care.

 A lack of access to comprehensive services where the women are less like to look after their sexual and reproductive health and rights, which can reduce the infection and risk of HIV. With access to these services, women have experienced and learned more about the unplanned pregnancies, which can help with understanding sexual and institutional violence.

In any setting, one can see that there are services which exist which can primarily married women with children and do not meet the specific needs of a young individual. More often than not, these health care provides are not well trained or skilled enough to do a youth-friendly service which will allow one to have an understanding of the age of consent.