Brazilian Women Ravaged By AIDS; Infection Rate Rises In Culture of Denial

Although Brazil, Latin America's largest country, has one of the most progressive anti-AIDS programs in the world, women -- and housewives in particular -- are becoming infected at an alarming rate. A recent government survey showed that new AIDS cases reported among women shot up 75.3 percent from 1994 to 1998, compared with a 10.2 percent increase among men. Experts say the culture of machismo makes it difficult for women to insist on condom use. "One of our biggest enemies in AIDS prevention is machismo," said Paulo Roberto Teixeira, secretary of Brazil's AIDS program. "We need to empower women, especially those living in poverty who have even less ability to negotiate sex with their partners. But we also need to educate women of all classes, who often don't see themselves with any risk factor." The vast majority of women with HIV are heterosexuals who do not use intravenous drugs. While some are prostitutes, many are married or are in long-term relationships.

The government is trying to address cultural pressures by sponsoring AIDS education classes in corporate offices and community centers taught by women living with AIDS. During one class offered to phone company managers in Porto Alegre, a city of 2 million in Brazil's deep south, women listened closely while men tended to take it more lightly. As the instructor Maria Beatriz Pacheco, who contracted AIDS from her ex-husband, spoke seriously about the need for safe sex even among married couples, one manager joked, "Come on, they haven't invented a condom big enough for a Brazilian man." "We have so far to go," Pacheco said. "Even if a wife knows her husband is cheating, it is more likely he will accuse her of infidelity for just suggesting he use a condom. We are trying to change that, but it will take a long time."

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