Women sex workers and the HIV pandemic: stigma and blame in context
Maduna-butshe, A.C.
Safaids News Southern Africa Aids Information Dissemination Service Bulletin 5(1): 8-11
1997
ISSN/ISBN: 1029-3256 PMID: 12222371 Document Number: 526575
In many African countries, the spread of HIV is aided by a complex knot of social, cultural, economic, and political factors. AIDS is becoming a disease of poverty, with the highest burden of prolonged economic crisis resting upon the shoulders of women. These same factors also result in women's enforced dependence on selling sex for survival and make sex workers highly vulnerable to HIV infection. However, concern for women in the context of the global pandemic has largely focused on their role in the transmission of the virus to others, primarily on their sexual partners and their children, rather than on their vulnerability. Blaming women for the spread of HIV and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) has resulted in considerable discrimination against them. Recognizing that sex work makes women more vulnerable to HIV leads to the conclusion that developing alternative sources of income for women is an important strategy for promoting women's health. In addition, women should be informed about traditions and conditions that may predispose them to STDs and HIV infection. Finally, rather than being stigmatized as the cause of HIV/AIDS, sex workers may be regarded as an indicator of the status of women.