women

Well, at least a little.  David Munar from AIDS Foundation of Chicago provided a great introduction to epidemiology - the scientific study of disease distribution and factors that cause disease to spread in communities - in this morning's Prevention Symposium.  David referenced the astounding and deeply disturbing disparities experienced by some populations, especially Black women and Black men who have sex with men.  He reminded us of the importance of real-time data:  while the CDC projected in 2006 an incidence rate (annual number of people infected by HIV) of 56,000; given a constant 5% transmission rate, that number would be closer to 64,000 this year- 2010- and will approach 75,000 by 2015.  And the Act Against AIDS "9 1/2 minutes" campaign (you know, the one that turns HIV-positive people red) is already old news.  In 2010, the epidemic would be more accurately characterized by an "Every 8 minutes" campaign, according to David.  Good thing we're all red, and so easy to find.
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I must say that I was thrilled to take in all of the knowledge about doing clinical trials and studies. What does that mean for me? Well, I need to start trusting the providers of the studies with getting the right information out there to other participants that are scared and afraid of starting a clinical trial. I know that the Tuskegee Study has detrimentally hurt the trusting relationships researchers have with African Americans.

So I must say that sometimes it takes one to know one and that is to say that if I get the opportunity to get into some form of research I will try my best to enroll in the study. Too many lives were lost in the early 80's and 90's to this horrible disease - and I know I need to carry the torch for myself and for my community at large.

I encourage anyone reading this to think about the lives that were lost and the memories that were gained and reflect on that today. Tonight, I saw a very nice and painful documentary on the History of Act-UP!!! (visit the Resources page for more information about the documentaries shown tonight at the Catalyst Forum). My heart goes out to those who gave their time and effort to save me - by advocating for new meds and treatment.  read more »

Women and HIV Prevention Research: Cocktails for Success workshop needed far more time but was excellently facilitated by Hadiyah Charles and Naina Kanna.  The information they delivered opened the dialogue to highlight the apparent research questions that are simply unanswered as it relates to the attention of women’s needs in prevention research in the United States. How can HIV Prevention Research and Treatment make women a priority?  Clearly we need to uncover the many layers of women’s lives in the United States, and how HIV affects women specifically.  The first item in our “Make-Up Kit” in the “Toolkit” of HIV prevention research and treatment… the “Happy Meal”.

A lovely African American woman over the age of 60 shared a story with the group.  It follows, in the senior community the men get their checks at the beginning of the month and the younger woman (25-45) years old come in, provide the men with company and many times sex.  Those younger women, the at-risk, "non-identified risk" woman sees these visits as a means to her survival considering, "single black women have a median wealth of $100 and Hispanic women $120 respectively, while their same-race male conterparts have $7,900 and $9,730.  The median wealth of single white women is $41,500. Source:http://www.insightcced.org/communities/Closing-RWG.html  read more »

April 20, 2010 marked the first evening of the Catalyst Forum, a colorful assembly of nascent and seasoned activists learning and offering knowledge about HIV Treatment and Biomedical HIV Prevention Research.  On the first evening I took a stroll with my good friend Nichole, within two blocks of the hotel we stumbled upon what we called the “Red Light District” of Baltimore. Oh yes, there’s the identifiable “at-risk woman” that we in our work, understand to be most likely to be exposed to HIV/STI infection through the occupational hazards of her means of survival.

As we continued to walk, I continued to think, what about the woman we don’t see, those women who are placed in the “non-identifiable risk” category because their greatest risk are the unknown risk behaviors of their partners?  Dare women ask their partner about their risk behaviors… only to be met many times with negativity and violence, when we are only trying to save our lives?  So what’s my approach for HIV Treatment and Biomedical HIV Research and women? To offer this through a lens of inviting women to understand that sex is and should be a self initiated, pleasurable experience, and how HIV affects their lives both in what we can deliver today and what we are developing for tomorrow.

Eroticizing safer sex is what my dear colleague Lisa Diane White of SisterLove calls a “Make-Up Kit” for the “Toolbox” of HIV prevention for women. What makes the “Make-Up Kit” so special you ask?  It examines all the ways we prioritize pleasure through prevention strategies and a self help model as a treatment for first providing healing spaces, then offering opportunities for self guided improvement through education.

So how do we as activists address the fact that we must make this opportunity available without judgment for the “at – risk” woman on the “Red Light District” and the “non-identifiable risk” woman whose life we don’t experience on the surface, that’s my question going into the first day of workshops at the HIV Research Catalyst Forum?

Jasmine Burnett

Aunt Betty's Basement