AIDS AND WOMEN OF THE MINORITY

AIDS AND WOMEN OF THE MINORITY

There remains a clear distinction between AIDS and other widespread diseases that have affected the United States. AIDS has taken a harsher toll on certain racial and ethnic populations over others – women of the minority, specifically African Americans and Hispanics have been hit harder than most. As an enormous scope of research and study has been done already on the disease itself, this paper will not only describe the nature of AIDS but will focus also on understanding some of the issues regarding women’s vulnerability to the disease and some prevention measures. Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, commonly known as AIDS, is arguably the most intelligent, deadly, and resilient disease our world has known. It has even been termed as the modern day equivalent of the epidemics that have plagued human history in the past. It is understandable how this comparison came into existence; ever since the Centers for Disease Control recognized AIDS as a distinct disease in 1982, an estimated 47 million people have been infected with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, or HIV, that leads to AIDS. (VeriMed Healthcare Network) The name itself is a good breakdown on the nature of the disease; Acquired because you can somehow be i

The obvious, and biological one, is that women are the ones that take the seminal fluids directly into their body as a byproduct of heterosexual intercourse. As of date, there is still no cure for HIV or AIDS, but there has been a way to slow down the HIV"tms deterioration of the body"tms immune system. There has been no documented evidence so far on whether saliva or deep kissing has been proven to transmit the virus. The next step is to consider all the options and alternatives that are available for them. Community based programs should and must reach out to out of school youths and other young women in whatever setting possible, even in shelters and any other youth centers. The recently concluded vice presidential debate proved this point clearly. 1)There we have it; to this day, after nearly 23 years since the disease"tms approximate conception, the US government and administration has nothing to say about the leading killer of not just black women, but black men as well (US Department of Health). "Qualitative study with Mexican-American women demonstrates that experiences of IPV(intimate partner violence) in the relationship impede women"tms ability to negotiate and practice safer sex"� (AIDS CARE, p. What should the government's role be in helping to end the growth of this epidemic?" (USA Today, p. The list provided by the website above is by no means a comprehensive one; a myriad of other infections that would under normal circumstances pose no threat whatsoever will rejoice to find the AIDS patient helpless to their once futile attacks. "A landmark 2002 report the Institute of Medicine found that racial and ethnic minorities in the United States tend to receive lower quality health care than whites and face greater barriers to care. Of course, the latter is no easy task for anybody; yet when women of the minority seem to have so little or no say whatsoever in taking safer sex measures, what other choice is there? When considering the staggering statistics, it is definitely a problem that needs to be addressed. An issue that has recently seen main-stream media attention, "down-low" describes men who secretly have sex with men but do not identify themselves as gay and still maintain heterosexual relationships. There are many conjectures made on this issue.