WHILE the spread of HIV/AIDS infection is on the decline, statistics have shown that women make up 70 percent of new infections in the 15-24 years age group. This statistic was revealed at the Ministry of the People’s Commemoration of International Women’s Day (IWD).
IWD was celebrated globally on March 8. This event commemorated the progress of women in Trinidad and Tobago’s society, but acknowledged that there are many challenges women still face, one of which is the rampant spread of HIV among females.
“More needs to be done to safeguard equality for women in Trinidad and Tobago when it comes to their sexual reproductive health,” said Dr Glenn Ramadharsingh, line Minister. He asked the audience what prevented the society from valuing a girl’s health and welfare as highly as a boy’s.“Is it that even in acknowledging women as our equals in the political, economic and even in the social arena, as men, our gender roles permit that we neglect their significance as equal partners behind closed doors?” he asked.
Ramadharsingh added that violence against women still remains an “unchecked global pandemic.” According to the United Nations, 70 percent of women experience physical or sexual violence or both from their intimate partners. This violence, which includes rape, contributes highly to the spread of the HIV infection. Referring to the frequency of which violent attacks against women appear in the news, he said “the perpetrators were not only their husbands and loved ones, but strangers entering their homes and violating their personal space and privacy, treating them with the highest form of disrespect.”
Ramadharsingh explicitly stated that he fully acknowledges that women’s sustainable economic, political and social development can be hampered by the increasing feminization of the HIV epidemic. So, he intends to devote his time and effort towards implementing programmes and initiatives that are directed towards creating changes.
