Breaking the Silence Research
Breaking the Silence Research
Ensuring the voices of Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic and Refugee (BAMER) Women are heard and spearhead positive change.
Breaking the SilenceWomen and Girls: Gender Inequality and HIV
Women living with HIV in the UK
Women make up almost a third of people living with HIV in the UK. Of this group, 48% are in an advanced stage of the disease by the time they receive an HIV diagnosis.
People Living With HIV (PLWHIV) can now live longer on treatment because it leads to viral suppression. HIV cannot be transmitted when the viral load is suppressed. Despite this, PLWHIV continue to face health and social challenges which hinder their participation in society and economy. These are barriers to achieving good quality of life.
Specific prevention initiatives are needed for those groups of women who are much more vulnerable to acquiring HIV. Reinventing Successes is passionate about building the strength and confidence of Women Living With HIV (WLWHIV) so that they can develop skills to enhance their confidence, and resilience and be able to advocate for their rights.
Our work involves collaborating with other organisations which work with Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic and Refugee (BAMER) women, and engaging with communities and faith leaders to offer them HIV related education. This includes knowledge building to promote HIV testing and treatment, reducing HIV stigma and discrimination and normalising HIV condition.
Background to Breaking the Silence
The fear of others’ reactions about their HIV status can put women under enormous stress, affect their mental health. Many WLWHIV report feeling socially isolated, as well as being physically unwell. Although the international community has significantly done a lot to reduce the effects of gender inequality and HIV related stigma and discrimination against WLWHIV, there is still much to be done, as social injustices and violence against women remain across the globe.
People who are diagnosed with HIV still experience high levels of discrimination and social stigma, at work, whilst accessing health care or in the general public. These prevent many women in the UK from accessing the services they need and to live a good quality of life beyond viral suppression. WLWHIV also experience the extra burden of being blamed for bringing HIV into a relationship as are likely to be tested first, during pregnancy or health tests.
They then bear threats from husbands for instance that their HIV status will be exposed to the wider community or that they will report them to the police under charges for criminal transmission of HIV.
Globally, women account for more than half the number of people living with HIV. Young women (10-24 years old) are twice as likely to acquire HIV compared to young men of the same age. This is because women and young girls are more vulnerable as a result of unequal cultural, social and economic status. In many countries, gender inequality in education and controlled social autonomy among women is directly associated to lower access to sexual health care, as well as HIV testing, treatment and support. Further, financial disproportions and intimate partner violence in relationships continually hamper a woman’s ability to negotiate condom use and protect herself from HIV.
