GENDER AND HIV/AIDS
UNIFEM has been implementing its gender-focused HIV/AIDS responses since 1998, building on existing areas of work and expertise such as elimination of violence against women, women’s economic empowerment, and achieving women’s full political participation in democratic governance. For the past six years, halting and reversing the spread of HIV/AIDS amongst women and girls has been one of UNIFEM’s four goals under the Strategic Results Framework. UNIFEM’s global strategic framework on HIV/AIDS responses is based on the human rights and women’s empowerment approach, placing CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women) as a cornerstone. Recognizing that gender inequality and inequity are the driving force of the pandemic of HIV/AIDS, UNIFEM has been calling for a shift from “women-targeted” responses to “empowerment-oriented” responses. UNIFEM also acts as a catalyst within the UN system and attempts to link the needs and concerns of women to all critical issues – including HIV/AIDS - at the national, regional and global level.
The 21st Century has seen HIV/AIDS progressively treated as a multi-disciplinary, multi-dimensional, and multi-sectoral issue. As a gender issue, many causes and consequences of HIV/AIDS on women are inter-linked to other women’s and gender issues such as violence against women, women’s lack of decision making power, and the feminization of poverty. Moreover, women’s empowerment is increasingly recognized as a means of effective prevention of HIV/AIDS in major international forums including UNGASS. UNIFEM’s own resolve in this area has been institutionalized under its Multi-Year Funding Framework (MYFF) with a commitment to “halt and reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS amongst women and girls” as one of the four goals of the 2004-2007 MYFF cycle.
Overview
Worldwide, the HIV virus continues to spread at an alarming rate, with an estimated 13,000 new infections per day. The Asian and Pacific region now accounts for over 18% of the world’s total HIV infections and has already overtaken Africa in recording the fastest growing rates of HIV infection in the world.
It is estimated that there are 7.2 million people living with HIV/AIDS in the Asia-Pacific region today. The current rates of infection in the Pacific region is expected to rise, with regular practice of unsafe sex, denial of women’s sexualities, high incidence of sexually transmitted infections and lack of access to information and services.
Through its groundbreaking research in the area of eliminating violence against women (EVAW), UNIFEM has shown that women’s widespread inability to negotiate safe sex and to refuse unwanted sex within primary relationships means that they are placed in a situation of high vulnerability to the virus without indulging high-risk behaviours or activities. In the Pacific, physical and sexual violence, psychological abuse and the threat of violence continue to act as significant barriers for women in terms of their ability discuss fidelity with their partners or leave relationships that they perceive to be risky. Too afraid to negotiate safe sex and condom use with their partners, the freedom from violence and sexual coercion essential to both physical security and reduced vulnerability to HIV infection, is not a reality for many Island women.
In light of the growing recognition amongst the international community that the gender dimensions to HIV AIDS can no longer be ignored, the renewed calls for action from the 189 UN Member Governments on ‘the elimination of all forms of discrimination, as well as all forms of violence against women and girls’ dovetails with many of the areas that UNIFEM is already working on within the region, including the implementation of CEDAW, EVAW, and the Women, Peace and Security programmes.
Background – HIV/AIDS in the Pacific Region
In terms of national responses to Gender and HIV/AIDS, the Update on HIV/AIDS in the Pacific – the outcome document from the Meeting of Ministers of Health for the Pacific Island Countries held in March 2003 – identified a number of key issues that still needs to be addressed by Governments in their respective National Strategic Plans. Chief amongst these was the creation of a better understanding of the linkages between development problems in the region (including gender, poverty, inequity) and the spread of HIV/AIDS/STIs. While two surveys in Samoa and Vanuatu in 2000 showed that almost one third of women attending antenatal clinics had at least one STI - and the Ministers Meeting noted ‘that the relatively high prevalence of STIs throughout the region underscores the risk of a HIV epidemic and indicates widespread vulnerability to sexual transmission of HIV’ - there has been no concerted effort to date by any of the Pacific Island governments to address the gender dimensions of the virus in a holistic or multi-ministerial, multisectoral manner. Rather, the high vulnerability status of Pacific Island women continues to be better addressed at the regional level.
With increased collaboration amongst the major donors and stakeholders, the commitment to not only strengthen country responses to HIV/AIDS but to ensure that the voices of the most vulnerable are heard, suggests that governments will come under increasing pressure to meet their obligations under the Millennium and UNGASS Declarations. In Fiji, there has been a seismic shift in political will amongst the traditional leaders, as demonstrated by the decision of the Great Council of Chiefs to co-host the ‘Accelerating Action Against AIDS in the Pacific’ regional meeting, held at the President’s village in March 2004.
Against this backdrop and given the favourable political climate at present, the launching of a Gender and HIV/AIDS programme for the region is well-timed and strategically placed to effect real change for the women of the Pacific.
Papua New Guinea
On the 16th of June 2003, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) together with the Government of Papua New Guinea signed a project document titled, “Support to the National Response to HIV/AIDS in PNG” as UNDP’s contribution to the Governments efforts in combating the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the country. The project is fully operational with two staff, the project manager and the project administrative assistant housed within the National AIDS Council (NAC) of Papua New Guinea.
There are three (3) components to the project; 1) Advocacy and policy dialogue at the national level; 2) Integration of gender dimensions of HIV/AIDS into National Programmes on HIV/AIDS and 3) Workplace support for HIV+ workers. The second component entails a partnership with UNIFEM. UNIFEM is to provide technical assistance to the project in identifying and developing activities that mainstream gender components into the project outputs.
The tasks of integrating gender dimensions into national policies, plans and budgetary instruments is being done in two phases.
Phase (i) which took place from September to October 2004 provided an audited report on gender dimensions of HIV/AIDS in PNG and of the National Plan of Action on HIV/AIDS.
Phase (ii) scheduled for around February 2005 will consist of workshops and consultations with key stakeholders and development partners culminating in a report with recommendations of gender dimension policies integrated into national polices and plans including Medium term Development Strategy (MTDS), the National Poverty Reduction Strategy (NPRS), the National Strategic Plan (NSP) 2004 –2008 and the National Human Development Report (NHDR) for Papua New Guinea, 2004.
