AIDS is the THIRD LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH among women aged 25-44.

The percentage of AIDS cases occurring in women increases yearly. In 1995, females accounted for 19% of adult / adolescent AIDS cases, the highest proportion yet reported.

Heterosexual contact accounted for 38% of reported AIDS cases among female/adolesecents in 1995

10,527 of the 13764 female adults/adolescents reported with AIDS in 1995 (or 76.5%) were either black of Hispanic.

Lesbians are at risk for HIV / AIDS. Although most HIV positive lesbians have been infected through intravenous drug use, women, having sex with women should avoid taking a partner's vaginal secretions or blood, (including menstrual blood), into the mouth, vagina, anus.

Sexual assault and domestic violence can put women at risk for HIV infection. Women who are raped, sexually abused, or victims of domestic violence have lost the power to make decisions about whether or not to engage in sexual activity and about personal safety, and are thus at risk for unprotected sexual activity. this unprotected act puts women at risk for being infected with HIV.

Thirty-six percent of HIV positive women who had not yet developed AIDS in 1995 were infected through heterosexual contact; 26% were infected through injecting drug use. Current trends show that hte number of women acquiring HIV through heterosexual contact has risen dramatically because it is easer for a man to transmit HIV to a woman than vice versa since a greater amount of semen has contact with the woman's genital tract than do vaginal secretions with a man's genital tract.

In addition, cultural, legal, religious, and economic factors limit the control many women have over their lives, their sexual relationships, and their ability to protect themselves from infection. Although latex condoms providethe most effective and cost-effective method of prevention from STD/HIV transmission, they cannot be used by a female without the consent of her partner. When a woman is unable to negotiate latex condom use with here partner, and thus protect herself from infection, she becomes vulnerable to infection. This affects the very fabric of families and communities.

Programs for women, such as support groups, that involve participants in the decision making process are key to preventing HIV infection. Giving women program ownership empowers them, challenges the social roots of vulnerability, and tackes the issue of negotiating safer sex for themselves and their partners. Such an environment, in which they can talk openly, enables women to voice their opinions about sexual decision-maiking and HIV / AIDS to one another and ultimately, to their partners. It also encourages open communication regarding the diverse racial, ethnic, class, sexual orientation, and HIV status backgrounds of the participants.

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