New Jersey: Women Get AIDS Prevention Advice

On a recent Saturday afternoon, dozens of women attended an AIDS prevention workshop at the Paterson Museum. Sponsored by the Silk City-based WholeLife Community Church's Outreach and Women's Ministry and the Coalition on AIDS in Passaic County Inc., the event, titled "Encouraging Victory through Education," featured speakers who discussed basic facts about the virus, prevention methods, and the stigma that many attach to it.

Pamela Odom of WholeLife said the church wanted to host the workshop because of disease's impact on minority communities. AIDS is the leading cause of death for black women ages 25-34 and the fourth-leading cause for Hispanic women ages 35-44, according to CDC. "Information and knowledge is power," said Odom. "Women need to be empowered to live their lives more wisely, especially since black women are on the front lines of AIDS."

"One of the reasons HIV is so prevalent in the community is we don't talk about it," said EvaMarie Flannory, coordinator of Project Change, and AIDS education an advocacy group. She called for an end to HIV/AIDS stigma.

One woman, now an AIDS educator, told the group that just because a potential sex partner looks healthy does not mean they are not infected. She shed her promiscuous lifestyle and mindset, she said, after becoming infected. "Your story doesn't have to be mine," she said. "I'm not a bad person. I just made bad choices."

At the end of the workshop, participants received a certificate of completion, as well as a bag of prophylactics.

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