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Women and HIV/AIDS

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Women with HIV/AIDS are women who have been infected with the HIV/AIDS virus.

History

Historically, women have often been excluded when it comes to HIV and AIDS advocacy, treatment, and research. At the start of the AIDS epidemic in 1981, medical and scientific communities failed to recognize women as a population in need of research, and because of this women were excluded from clinical trials of medication and preventative measures. Women were also often blocked from clinical research with exclusionary language like "no pregnant or non-pregnant women".[1] The National Institutes of Health (NIH) also rejected grants that were targeted at understanding the co-factors of HIV in low-income ethnic minority women.[1] This lack of attention toward women is often attributed to the fact that many of the service organizations and much of the research stemmed from the gay rights movement, and because of this they knew little of the needs of women and lacked the proper tools and resources to serve this group. The clinical symptoms of HIV often manifest differently in men and women, and because of this doctors often did not recognize many symptoms in women because of this knowledge gap.

Women often did not know of their HIV positive status until they became pregnant. In December 1982 the first reported cases of possible mother to child transmission were recorded, the number of children infected with the virus climbed throughout the decade. The introduction of the drug AZT in treated HIV positive women decreased the number of mother to child transmission dramatically, up to 70%.[2][3] Women with children often are responsible for the majority (90%) of their children's health care management, and subsequently, due to their central role, there may be a delay or complete avoidance of their treatment and medical needs.

The first reported case of HIV in women within the United States was in 1981[4] Women currently account for approximately 20% of reported cases of HIV.[5] The two major modes of transmission in women are heterosexual sex and intravenous drug use.[5] Women who were most likely to contract HIV were often those who had little or no access to proper care and treatment such as injection drug users, sex workers, and low-income women of color. Often women were shamed and did not seek medical intervention.

Timeline

1982

  • Women who were at risk of contracting HIV were classified under the risk category of "prostitutes"[6]
  • Female, as well as male drug users, were observed to be contracting the virus[6][7]

1983

  • Barbara Fabian Baird becomes one of the first nurses to conduct AIDS research with the National Institutes of Health[6][8]
  • The Women's AIDS Network is established[6][9]
  • The CDC adds "female sexual partners of males with AIDS" as a risk category[10][11][12]

1984

  • A social worker named Caitlyn Ryan becomes the first executive director of AID Atlanta, the oldest AIDS service organization in the Southwest[13]

1985

1986

  • Women represent seven percent of cases of AIDS in the United States.[6][15]
  • Caitlyn Ryan hired to coauthor the first ever book on AIDS policy called AIDS: A Public Health Challenge, which served as a guide to many public officials[6][16]
  • Marie St. Cyr becomes the first director of the New York-based Women and AIDS Resource Network (WARN)[6][17]

1987

  • 13.5% of the National Institutes of Health's funds are allocated to women's health issues[6]
  • Women are excluded from HIV trials at this time unless they are using birth control. No medical assistance or gynecological care is provided[1][6]
  • The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first antiretroviral drug (AZT) to be used in the treatment of AIDS[15][18]

1988

  • NIH guidelines are revised and call for an analysis of data and collection by gender; these guidelines do not establish direct guidelines for women's inclusion
  • An article in the popular magazine Cosmopolitan incorrectly illustrates that women they are able to have sexual intercourse with HIV positive men and are not at risk for HIV if they have 'healthy vaginas'[19]
  • Women are the named the fastest growing population with HIV
  • The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) reports that the number of women living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa exceeds that of men[2]

1989

  • NIH revises guidelines once more to be more inclusive to women

1990

  • The First National Women and HIV Conference is held in Washington, DC[2][6]
  • Cook County Hospital in Chicago, the only hospital in the city with an AIDS ward, refuses to admit women. A ward is set up in the street as a demonstration and 35 are arrested. Women are admitted to the ward two days following the protest.[6]
  • "Women, AIDS, and activism" written by ACT UP's Women's Caucus[2]
  • On May 21, ACT UP protests at the NIH for the inclusion of women and people of color in HIV trials and treatment access[3]

1992

1993

  • U.S. Congress enacts NIH Revitalization Act, giving the Office of AIDS Research (OAR) primary oversight of all NIH AIDS research. This requires that all research agencies include research on women and minorities in all research they conduct.[2][3]
  • A book by Gena Corea is published: The Story of Women and AIDS: The Invisible Epidemic[6]
  • HIV becomes the leading cause of death for African American women aged 25–44[20]

1994

1996

  • The annual incidence of women diagnosed with AIDS begins to decline because of the success of antiretroviral therapies in the U.S.[6]

1997

  • Women account for more than half of all cases of HIV globally[6]
  • 75% of cases of HIV diagnosis are in African American women[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c "A history of HIV/AIDS in women: Shifting narrative and a structural call to arms". American Psychological Association. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Jul 20, Published; 2018 (2018-07-20). "Global HIV/AIDS Timeline". The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Retrieved 2019-04-25. {{cite web}}: |last2= has numeric name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ a b c d e "A Timeline of HIV and AIDS". HIV.gov. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2016-05-11. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
  4. ^ Dean, Hazel D.; Lee, Lisa M.; Thompson, Melanie; Dannemiller, Tracy (November 2004). "Impact of HIV on Women in the United States1". Emerging Infectious Diseases. 10 (11): 2030–2031. doi:10.3201/eid1011.04-062308. ISSN 1080-6040. PMC 3363322. PMID 16010735.
  5. ^ a b "amfAR :: Statistics: Women and HIV/AIDS :: The Foundation for AIDS Research :: HIV / AIDS Research". www.amfar.org. Retrieved 2019-10-04.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Wilder, From Terri. "A Timeline of Women Living With HIV: Past, Present and Future". TheBody.com. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
  7. ^ "A Report on Women and HIV/AIDS in the U.S." (PDF). Kaiser Family Foundation. April 2013. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  8. ^ "In Their Own Words". History of the United States National Institutes of Health. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
  9. ^ "Finding Aid to the Women's AIDS Network (WAN) Records, 1985-1992". Online Archive of California. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
  10. ^ "The New York City AIDS Memorial". The New York City AIDS Memorial. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
  11. ^ "History of HIV and AIDS overview". AVERT. 2015-07-20. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
  12. ^ "Epidemiologic Notes and Reports Immunodeficiency among Female Sexual Partners of Males with Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) -- New York". U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved 2019-04-26.
  13. ^ Wilder, Terri; M.S.W.June 1; 2012. "A Timeline of Women Living With HIV: Past, Present and Future -- 1984 | TheBody". www.thebody.com. Retrieved 2019-10-04. {{cite web}}: |last3= has numeric name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ "Our History in Pictures". San Francisco AIDS Foundation. Retrieved 2019-04-26.
  15. ^ a b "The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program - A Living History". Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
  16. ^ Robinson, Adjoa. "In Social Work Podcast Series" (PDF). In Social Work. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  17. ^ Treichler, Paula A. (1999). How to Have Theory in an Epidemic: Cultural Chronicles of AIDS. Duke University Press. ISBN 9780822323181.
  18. ^ "Approval of AZT News". AIDSinfo. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
  19. ^ Maggenti, Maria. Interview with Sarah Schulman and Jim Hubbard. ACTUP Oral History Project. February 16, 2005. MIX: The New York Lesbian & Gay Experimental Film Festival. December 11, 2005, Actupralhistory.org
  20. ^ a b "Timeline: 30 Years of AIDS in Black America". FRONTLINE. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
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