Strategies for Preventing HIV in Women

Young women and women of color are disproportionately affected by HIV and AIDS. Female adolescents (ages 10-19) and young adult women (ages 20-24) are at higher risk of HIV/STD infection for several reasons: they may be more likely to have multiple partners, they may be more likely to engage in risky behavior, they may be more likely to have partners at higher risk of infection, and they may be more biologically susceptible to cervical infections (CDC, DSTDP, 1996; CDC, NCHSTP, 1996). Although African American and Hispanic women comprise less than one-fourth of all U.S. women, they account for more than three-fourths of AIDS cases among women (CDC, NCHSTP, 1996). Race and ethnicity in the United States are risk markers that correlate with other more fundamental determinants of health status such as poverty, access to quality health care, health care-seeking behavior, illicit drug use, and living in communities with high prevalence of HIV and other STDs.

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