HIV PRIORITIES FOR POSITIVE CHANGE as identifed by women in the Caribbeantoward achieving Universal Access Building women’s global meaningful participation in the High Level Meeting on AIDS The ATHENA Network and the Global Coalition on Women and AIDS initiated a global virtual consultation in nine lan- guages, engaging approximately 800 women rom over 95 countries, in order to provide a platorm or women and girls - especially those ous living with and aected by HIV - to voice our priorities and vision or the uture othe HIV response. The consultation aimed to take stock owomen’s experiences othe measures in place to curb HIV to date; and to ensure women- and girls-centered input into the High Level Meeting on AIDS in June 2011. In looking to the uture, we recognize the centrality owomen’s rights and gender equality to the success othe HIV response and reafrm our shared commitment to women, girls, and gender equality in the context oHIV and AIDS. In these key regional messages, women and girls voice our vision or positive change. Our frst message is to ensure that all women and girls are respected, engaged, and recognized in all the rich diversity oour multiple – oten overlapping – identities: as women and girls living with and a- ected by HIV; young women; sex workers; lesbian, bisexual, or transgender women; migrant, reugee, or internally displaced women; women with experience oprison, drug use, caregiving, widowhood, and disabilities; and indigenous, rural, and urban women. WOMEN’S PRIORITIES CARIBBEAN • Ensure access to inclusive and holistic HIV prevention, treatment, care, and support services for women and girls in all our diversity “Minority groups such as sex workers or migrants oten avoid health services or ear odiscrimination or judgmental treatment.”• Promote the dignity and rights of all women and girls, and eliminate stigma and discrimination “Women that are positive can access these services ithey keep their STATUS rom the health worker. Reveal it and theycould ace denials oservices, and discrimi- nation. They are being encouraged to do terminations opregnancy, tie o[tubal ligation], and not to be engaged in sex.”• Champion gender equality to acceler - ate women’s empowerment, and the engagement of men and boys in order to eradicate violence against women “Women who work in the same feld as men should be given the same amount opay as a man.”
Transcript
8/6/2019 Women and AIDS Caribbean Towards UNGASS 2011
HIV PRIORITIES FOR POSITIVE CHANGEas identifed by women in the Caribbean toward achieving Universal Access
Building women’s global
meaningful participation in theHigh Level Meeting on AIDS
The ATHENA Network and the GlobalCoalition on Women and AIDS initiated aglobal virtual consultation in nine lan-guages, engaging approximately 800women rom over 95 countries, in orderto provide a platorm or women and girls- especially those o us living with andaected by HIV - to voice our priorities andvision or the uture o the HIV response.The consultation aimed to take stock owomen’s experiences o the measures inplace to curb HIV to date; and to ensure
women- and girls-centered input into theHigh Level Meeting on AIDS in June 2011.
In looking to the uture, we recognize thecentrality o women’s rights and genderequality to the success o the HIV responseand reafrm our shared commitmentto women, girls, and gender equality inthe context o HIV and AIDS. In these keyregional messages, women and girlsvoice our vision or positive change. Ourfrst message is to ensure that all women
and girls are respected, engaged, andrecognized in all the rich diversity o ourmultiple – oten overlapping – identitiesas women and girls living with and a-ected by HIV; young women; sex workerlesbian, bisexual, or transgender womemigrant, reugee, or internally displacedwomen; women with experience o prisodrug use, caregiving, widowhood, anddisabilities; and indigenous, rural, andurban women.
WOMEN’S PRIORITIES CARIBBEA
• Ensure access to inclusive and
holistic HIV prevention, treatment,
care, and support services for
women and girls in all our diversity
“Minority groups such as sex workersor migrants oten avoid health servicesor ear o discrimination or judgmentaltreatment.”
• Promote the dignity and rights of
all women and girls, and eliminate
stigma and discrimination
“Women that are positive can accessthese services i they keep their STATUSrom the health worker. Reveal it and they could ace denials o services, and discrimi-nation. They are being encouraged to doterminations o pregnancy, tie o [tuballigation], and not to be engaged in sex.”
• Champion gender equality to acceler-
ate women’s empowerment, and the
engagement of men and boys in order
to eradicate violence against women
“Women who work in the same feld asmen should be given the same amount o
pay as a man.”
8/6/2019 Women and AIDS Caribbean Towards UNGASS 2011
“Promote the greater participation of allkey affected women and girls in decision-making that affects their lives.”
Concluding Comments
The virtual consultation was developedwith the ethos and intent o democratizinginternational processes – and to provide avehicle whereby women and girls rom allwalks o lie and in all regions o the worldcan have their say on the achievements,challenges, and opportunities or changeas the global community looks to the 2011High Level Meeting on AIDS.
What we have learned through the devel-opment o the consultation and throughour analysis o what women are saying is
simply that women seek and are thirstyto be engaged and viewed as equal, activestakeholders and as agents o changerather than as subordinate, passive re-cipients. The responses we have receiveddemonstrate that women want to enjoyopportunity, independence, sexual andphysical autonomy – and as such, womenseek an HIV response that is holistic,shared sector-wide, gendered, compre-hensive, equitable, and deeply rooted inhuman rights. Women all over the globe
are taking initiative and are on the ront-lines o the response, implementing programs with their own capacity, and bringing about change in their communities.
The most aected women and girls musbe most central to the response, and ashistory has shown us repeatedly wheretrue social transormation has taken plai these same women’s visions and aspirtions were adequately supported, then taspirations o us all would all into place
For more information visit www.womenandaids.net and www.athenanetwork.org
Additional Supporting Partners
Asia Pacifc Network o Women with HIV,(WAPN+), Thailand
EATG, EuropeEchos séropos, Belgium
ICW North America, USAInternational Women’s Health Coalition, GlobalMama’s Club, UgandaSeres, PortugalUK Consortium on AIDS and International
Development, UK
This regional call to action is co-sponsored bythe Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS and the United Nations Entity for GenderEquality and the Empowerment of Women.
For more information, please visit www.womenandaids.net and www.athenanetwork.org ocontact us by email at [email protected][email protected].
Collaborating Partners
Acknowledgements
The ATHENA Network and the Global Coalition on Women and AIDS acknowledge and appreciate our outstanding team whosecollaboration, investment, and shared expertise has made a virtual consultation or women and girls, and this call to action, towardthe 2011 High Level Meeting on AIDS possible.
