Citation

Bridg. Wash. DC 1998; (3): 6.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1998, Health Systems Research and Development Program of the World Health Organization and the Foundation for Health Services Research)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

12222200

Abstract

Lynn Paxton, of the Rakai Project, told an oral session that, based on the results of her study of HIV infection and female coercion in Uganda, fear of HIV infection does not appear to affect men's likelihood of coercing sex or women's likelihood of refusing sex; no difference was found in HIV prevalence between men and women reporting coercion and those who did not. Almost 25% of the 5000 women who were interviewed reported being coerced; 10% of the 4000 men in the study reported coercing their partners. Most coercive relationships were between spouses. Ana Maria Pluciennik, of Sao Paulo Health Services, reported that cases of HIV were increasing among Brazilian women. In 1983, cases in men outnumbered cases in women by 16 to 1; in 1996, the ratio was 3:1. Pluciennik recommended the following: 1) training courses concerning sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) for maternity clinic staff; 2) dissemination of information on family planning, and on prenatal and delivery care; and 3) distribution of educational materials and condoms. A study of mothers and daughters in Puerto Rico, where AIDS is the leading cause of death among women aged 20-39 and where 20% of live births are to teenage mothers, revealed a lack of knowledge about STDs and HIV and an absence of communication about sex. Ruth Nina-Estrella said the girls described an ideal of open communication that was far from reality.

Language: en