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    Intersections of Gender and HIV-AIDS

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    Gracia Violeta Ross Quiroga
    Gracia Ross is a social anthropologist from Bolivia who now leads the Ecumenical HIV/AIDS Initiatives and Advocacy program at the World Council of Churches. She discusses how gender inequality and norms limiting women's autonomy fuel the HIV epidemic. In many contexts, married women are more vulnerable to HIV because culture assigns total control to men. Gender-based violence also intersects with HIV, as violence causes HIV transmission and HIV generates more violence. The World Council of Churches addresses these issues through contextual Bible studies, intergenerational dialogues on relationships and sexuality, and safe space conversations with at-risk groups.

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    Intersections of Gender and HIV-AIDS

    Uploaded by

    Gracia Violeta Ross Quiroga
    29 views2 pages
    Gracia Ross is a social anthropologist from Bolivia who now leads the Ecumenical HIV/AIDS Initiatives and Advocacy program at the World Council of Churches. She discusses how gender inequality and norms limiting women's autonomy fuel the HIV epidemic. In many contexts, married women are more vulnerable to HIV because culture assigns total control to men. Gender-based violence also intersects with HIV, as violence causes HIV transmission and HIV generates more violence. The World Council of Churches addresses these issues through contextual Bible studies, intergenerational dialogues on relationships and sexuality, and safe space conversations with at-risk groups.

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    Talking points, Intersections of gender and HIV/AIDS

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    Gracia Ross is a social anthropologist from Bolivia who now leads the Ecumenical HIV/AIDS Initiatives and Advocacy program at the World Council of Churches. She discusses how gender inequality and norms limiting women's autonomy fuel the HIV epidemic. In many contexts, married women are more vulnerable to HIV because culture assigns total control to men. Gender-based violence also intersects with HIV, as violence causes HIV transmission and HIV generates more violence. The World Council of Churches addresses these issues through contextual Bible studies, intergenerational dialogues on relationships and sexuality, and safe space conversations with at-risk groups.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    29 views2 pages

    Intersections of Gender and HIV-AIDS

    Uploaded by

    Gracia Violeta Ross Quiroga
    Gracia Ross is a social anthropologist from Bolivia who now leads the Ecumenical HIV/AIDS Initiatives and Advocacy program at the World Council of Churches. She discusses how gender inequality and norms limiting women's autonomy fuel the HIV epidemic. In many contexts, married women are more vulnerable to HIV because culture assigns total control to men. Gender-based violence also intersects with HIV, as violence causes HIV transmission and HIV generates more violence. The World Council of Churches addresses these issues through contextual Bible studies, intergenerational dialogues on relationships and sexuality, and safe space conversations with at-risk groups.

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    INTERSECTIONS OF GENDER & HIV/AIDS

    Good evening. My name is Gracia, which means grace in Spanish. I am from Bolivia; I am
    a social anthropologist by training. I joined the World Council of Churches to lead the
    Ecumenical HIV/AIDS Initiatives and Advocacy (EHAIA) in February 2022.

    GENDER AND HIV


    The HIV epidemic has its basis in poverty, lack of education, inequitable access to health
    and unfair gender systems. As you know, in most of our societies gender norms limit the
    ability of women to take decisions on our sexual health.

    The Joint United Nations Program for HIV (UNAIDS), stated that in many contexts,
    married women are at more risk of acquiring HIV, because the local culture assigns total
    control and decision to men. Gender experts called this phenomenon “the paradox of low
    risk and high vulnerability”, this means that women, despite not having the riskiest factors,
    are still highly vulnerable to acquire HIV and that is because of the behavior of others, in
    the majority of occasions, men.

    SEXUAL, GENDER BASED VIOLENCE AND HIV


    One of the saddest examples of the intersections of gender and HIV is sexual gender based
    violence. That is a vicious cycle. Violence causes HIV and HIV generates even more
    violence. I am witness and a survivor of that. When I was 20 years old, I survived rape in
    the hands of two men and two years after I discovered my HIV positive test, I am now
    living with HIV for 22 years. During all those years, I have seen how women are exposed to
    HIV because we lack knowledge, power and agency to decide. In addition, the context that
    surrounds us is extremely violent.

    SOME DATA OF THE GLOBAL AIDS STRATEGY


    Is HIV a current problem? Although the deaths caused by AIDS have reduced thanks to the
    effectiveness of treatment, the new cases of HIV have connections with gender inequalities,
    especially for young women.

    In 2021, the United Nations developed the Global AIDS Strategy for 2021-2026; one of the
    main recommendations is to focus on the inequalities that fuel the HIV epidemic. In order
    to understand how gender inequality intersects with HIV, I will give the example of two
    regions.

    In 2019, West and Central Africa accounted for more than one third of new HIV infections
    among children globally. In that same year, women and girls represented 58% of new
    infections with a majority of adolescents and girls. In the region, violence against women
    and girls is pervasive.

    The second example is the Caribbean, in 2019, one quarter of new infections were among
    young people. Key populations and their sexual partners or clients accounted for 60% of
    new infections. In HIV when we talk about “key populations” we refer to transgender
    women, gay men, sex workers and people who use drugs. Yes, all these groups have
    intersections of gender inequality that makes them more vulnerable to gender based
    violence and to HIV.

    THE ROLE OF THE CHURCH


    Does this relate to the Christian community in any way? In many countries, the church can
    be the source of empowerment, accompaniment and support for people living with HIV.
    However, in other countries and contexts, the church has been accused of creating more
    vulnerability for women and vulnerable communities, because we avoid providing
    education and information that could save our lives, and in some cases, we promoted the
    total control of men over women.

    WHAT IS THE WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES (WCC) DOING ABOUT IT?


    In the WCC, with the initiative Ecumenical HIV/AIDS Initiatives and Advocacy, through
    five regional offices in Africa (Kenya, Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe
    and Togo), we are providing lifesaving information, life giving theologies for adolescents
    and young people, people living with HIV, pastors and faith leaders.

    In particular, we should be proud of three interventions:

    • Contextual Bible Studies in which faith leaders review the sacred texts and analyse what is
    the message of compassionate care, no discrimination, no stigma and gender justice.
    • Intergenerational Dialogues in which adolescents and young people talk with pastors
    about issues that matter for their lives: love, relationships between men and women,
    sexuality, sex and HIV.
    • Safe Space Conversations in which vulnerable communities such as migrants, internally
    displaced people, youth and even sex workers talk with faith leaders about HIV prevention
    and care.

    Gracia Violeta Ross


    [email protected]
    +591 70678041
    Geneva-Switzerland, June 16, 2022
    Meeting of Women, Central Committee - World Council of Churches

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