Stigma for Women With HIV And AIDS In Sub Saharan

STIGMA FOR WOMEN WITH HIV AND AIDS IN SUB SAHARA By Course Name Professor’s Name University City, State Date of Submission Stigma for Women With HIV And AIDS In Sub Sahara Introduction Ever since the discovery of HIV approximately thirty years ago, the pandemic has greatly affected most people living in the sub-Sahara region. The number of infected cases in the sub-Saharan account for two-thirds of the world’s HIV infections. A large number of people with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa is mostly women. Compared to men, reports of women being infected at an early age are more common with girls as young as ten years old contacting the disease. A number of factors have contributed to such high cases of HIV infections in women in sub-Saharan Africa. These factors include structural, cultural, socioeconomic, behavioral and biological risks. Stigmatization leads to denial and secrecy, these two factors fueling the transmission of HIV among the people in sub-Saharan Africa. The fear of being identified as having HIV has discouraged most individuals in sub-Saharan Africa to get tested. Although some parts have adopted means such as antiretroviral therapy to encourage the women and men to get tested, the high cases of stigma still limit most people from getting tested even in cases where there is ready treatment. Eventually, when the infected persons get ill, they now seek medical assistance, but at this stage, the treatment cannot be effective. This essay seeks to discuss the stigma and health effects of women living with HIV and Aids. The rate of HIV Infections in sub-Saharan Africa The region of sub-Saharan Africa is the most affected by HIV and Aids. Out of the 23.5 million people with HIV worldwide, 69% are situated in the areas of sub-Sahara (Ramjee and Daniels 2013, p. 1). Countries like South Africa and Swaziland have the most people living with HIV, followed by Namibia and Mozambique. The most common means of transmission is through heterosexual sex. Across entire sub-Saharan Africa, approximately one woman is infected with HIV every minute. By the end of 2011, close to 92% of pregnant women living in the sub-Saharan region were HIV positive (Ramjee and Daniels 2013, p. 1). However, the data can be regarded as inaccurate due to the difficulty in conducting a proper survey across the region. Nonetheless, the various surveys conducted across countries in East Africa, South Africa, and Zambia show a decrease in the number of infected pregnant women. According to a survey by the Human Sciences Research Council, most young women who contracted HIV are unmarried (Ramjee and Daniels 2013, p. 1). Factors That Contribute to HIV Infections among Women In sub-Saharan Africa Various factors have given rise to most women having contracted HIV in comparison to men. These factors include structural, social and economic, cultural, and biological. Structural Factors Factors including stigma related to health and migration, gender inequality, and gender-based violence are some of the common structural vulnerabilities that contribute to HIV infections among females living in parts of sub-Saharan. The social norms that exist in most African communities often lead to gender inequality as cultural beliefs such as male sexual entitlement and lack of women empowerment lead to low education levels for women, lack of legal support and economic power. The inequality among the communities also limits the sharing of resources such as land among the women. Resultantly, women tend to depend upon the men for financial support and in order to receive the support, men force the women into sex. The gender norms present in such communities in sub-Sahara also encourage polygamy among men, whereas monogamy is meant to be practiced by women. Acts by women to deny their partner’s sex often lead to violence and most societies tolerate such violence. Although men are more likely to bring HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases into their relationships, women are also likely to bring such infections. In fact, women who cheat on their husbands are more vulnerable to health risks such as HIV, coerced sex, abortion and rape. Stigmatization is also a contributing structural factor for Aids infections in women in sub-Saharan Africa. The fear of status often discourages people from seeking medical assistance as HIV infected persons are often discriminated and isolated. Stigma is common on different levels, including societal, legislative, interpersonal and institutional. Women suffer the most from stigmatization as they are mostly expected to uphold moral standards within the society. Therefore, women who are infected with HIV experience human rights violations, harsh and judgmental treatment, service denial and stigmatization in the society more than men do. The high degree of stigmatization results in reluctance in testing and treatment among women. The growth of urban centers is also a contributing factor to the high number of HIV infections. Urbanization has replaced the traditional beliefs that pertain to a culture which restricted sexual behavior. As a result, more people are associated with drug use and unprotected sex. The common political conflicts, which result in war among the countries in sub-Saharan Africa have led to the destruction of medical infrastructure and high poverty levels. These conditions restrict infected persons from seeking proper medical care, thus increasing the spread of HIV. Biological Factors Concerning the biological aspect, women are more likely to fall victim to HIV infections since when having sexual intercourse, a large mucosal surface area in women is exposed to infectious fluids for a much longer period of time, which can be exposed to infectious fluids and pathogens. The cervical ectopy in younger women encourages exposure to such infections by exposing the vagina to pathogens and trauma (Ghosh, Rodriguez-Garcia and Wira 2013, p. 3). Since STIs are commonly associated with high risks of HIV infections, the diagnosis of STIs in women based on visual symptoms has proven difficult and such infections easily lead to HIV. Areas in sub-Saharan Africa such as the KwaZulu-Nata province in South Africa have high cases of women infected with STIs and most cases result in HIV infections (Karim et al. 2012, p. 1). More so, women are also vulnerable to HIV because of the presence of hormones such as progesterone. According to evidence based on observation, women who use injectable contraception that contain depot medroxyprogesterone acetate have higher risks of being infected with HIV. Although this observation is yet to be confirmed scientifically, organizations such as the World Health Organization have taken precautionary measures by educating young women in Sub Saharan that pregnant women have a higher possibility of getting infected (World Health Organization 2012, p. 4). One possible reason for such a possibility is due to the physiological changes that pregnant women experience during pregnancy. Pregnant women have higher levels of progesterone and estrogen, which cause changes in the genital mucosa, thus contributing to HIV infections (Robinson and Klein 2012 p. 264). Behavioral Factors Out of the total number of women in South Africa aged between 15 and 24 years old, 7.8% engaged in sexual intercourse by the age of fourteen. The change in behavior can be an important factor in reducing the number of HIV infections within the sub-Saharan region through abstinence and practicing safe sex. However, for most women, abstinence is not an option and this has led to young women engaging in risky sexual behaviors at an early age. It is also a common case for most young women who practice childhood sexual inter...