Women's Views on News |
- Stepping towards an AIDS-free generation
- Campaign against lap-dancing club in York
- Manchester City means business
- HIV: raising new issues in 2013
| Stepping towards an AIDS-free generation Posted: 03 Dec 2013 08:33 AM PST
For the first time in the history of the HIV epidemic, the global community has accumulated the knowledge, experience and tools to achieve an AIDS-free generation, according to a new report from UNICEF. The report defines ‘AIDS-free generation’ as ‘a generation in which all children are born free of HIV and remain so for the first two decades of life, from birth through adolescence. ‘It also means that children – and in the report the term ‘children’ applies to all children below the age of 18 years – living with and affected by HIV have access to the treatment, care and support they need to remain alive and well.’ The report, ‘Towards an AIDS-Free Generation – Children and AIDS: Sixth Stocktaking Report, 2013′, focuses on the response to HIV and AIDS among children in low- and middle-income countries, and says that more progress in treating HIV was made between 2009 and 2012 than during the previous decade; 2012 data show a 35 per cent decline in new HIV infections among children under the age of 15 years, compared with 2009. And it says that 2012 also saw coverage of antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) for pregnant women living with HIV reach 62 per cent in the 22 priority countries in the Global Plan Towards the Elimination of New HIV Infections Among Children by 2015 and Keeping Their Mothers Alive (the 'Global Plan'). The move to providing antiretroviral therapy (ART) for all pregnant and breastfeeding women has been a major change. Keeping mothers alive and healthy has been recognised as one of the most important factors for early child survival, and has meant that women's health and well-being has been placed at the centre of preventing HIV in children. Nonetheless, at the end of 2012 approximately 2.1 million (1.7 million–2.8 million) adolescents were living with HIV globally, and approximately two thirds of new HIV infected adolescents aged 15–19 years were girls. Actually preventing HIV infection among women and girls of childbearing age and helping women and girls who are living with HIV to avoid unwanted pregnancies are still priorities when it comes to preventing HIV infections among children. Figures show that in the absence of HIV testing and timely ART initiation, one third of infants living with HIV die before their first birthday, and more than half die before the age of 2 years. This report highlights both the gains and the gaps in the response to HIV among children in the first and second decades of their lives, and while it emphasises high-prevalence settings, there is also still concern for children in lower-prevalence settings – and the clear challenge is to maintain and expand upon progress made. And unfortunately, creating an AIDS-free generation is more than a biomedical endeavour. Economic and social drivers of HIV – such as poverty, food insecurity, drug and alcohol use, social marginalization, gender inequality, violence and sexual exploitation, and the lack of access to education, including comprehensive sexuality education – also need to be addressed. But at least now, it this report is anything to go by, the path to an AIDS-free generation is clear. An AIDS-free generation, the report emphasises, is possible, but it will only be achieved through strong leadership from government, determined support of common objectives and the wholehearted participation of civil society and affected communities.  |
| Campaign against lap-dancing club in York Posted: 03 Dec 2013 06:27 AM PST
Members of the York Feminist Network (YFN) have started a petition urging the City of York Council to reject an application for a renewal of licence from a lap-dancing club in the city. The licence for the club ‘Upstairs’, which is part of The Mansion, on the city’s Micklegate, expired on 30 November 2013, and the 28-day objection period concludes at midnight on 24 December 2013. Please help us object. As well as the petition, three members of the YFN team are currently compiling a brief report and letter of objection to be submitted by the deadline. Rachel from YFN has outlined the main objections to the presence of Sexual Entertainment Venues (SEVs) which are centred on four key arguments – arguments informed by guidance from Object and the Women’s National Commission: Lap-dancing clubs such as this serve to normalise the sexual objectification of women. The club creates a ‘no go’ area for women and local residents on and around the Micklegate area. The club is located near premises of ‘sensitive use' which include two churches, a school, Independent Domestic Abuse Services (IDAS), York Women’s Counselling Service, Reflect (counselling for pregnancy crisis), Priory Street Nursery, Mainstay (supporting people with mental health difficulties), the British Association for the Study and Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (BASCPAN) and Survive (supporting survivors of rape and sexual abuse). The club also has a negative impact on York’s welcoming and family-friendly reputation. For Rachel though, the objections should be placed within a much wider context – the oppression of women. “As a feminist group our primary objective is a struggle against the continuing oppression of women within our patriarchal system; a system where women face systematic violence, are treated as sexual objects for the male gaze, and are valued according to a dehumanised vision of womanhood. “Our objection is not to sex workers but to the sex industry as a whole, and the inequality in our society which it encourages and allows to flourish. “In our campaign, we focus on the broader gender power imbalances and the societal impact of lap dancing clubs encouraging the widespread idea that women's bodies are available for male consumption.” If you want to get involved, you can contact the York Feminist Network or sign the petition. Or both. Thanks.  |
| Manchester City means business Posted: 03 Dec 2013 03:00 AM PST
In 2012 a new football force emerged in the men's Premier League; in the closest title race since its inception, Manchester City pipped their greatest rivals, Manchester United, with just seconds to spare in the last game of the season. While there was jubilation in the blue half of Manchester and plenty of general comment that it was good to see a bit of competition, there were also darker mutterings that City had "bought" the league through their outlandish spending. The team and squad were not developed, but bought in wholesale with just one aim in view. Whether this was indeed true, or a just a case of sour grapes from the losers, it changed the face of English Premier League football. Roman Abramovich was the first to try to "buy" a title when he took over as Chelsea owner in 2003: with a backbone of domestic players he kept adding to his squad until they won the Premier League title in the 2004-5 season. However, Manchester City have taken the idea to new heights. The question is, are they about to do the same in the Women's Super League (WSL)? Over the past couple of weeks, Manchester City Ladies have made three high profile signings – and are obviously on the lookout for more. First, England midfielder Jill Scott left Everton to sign a two-year deal. In an interview with the City website she said, “For me, it’s a chance for a fresh start with a new challenge. “It’s fantastic to be here and to see the plans that Manchester City Ladies have in place to compete in the first season of the FA WSL.” England goalkeeper Karen Bardsley was next to join, leaving Lincoln (or Notts County as they are now to be called) to join City, again on a two-year deal. City's latest coup, announced last week, has been to snap up England's high-flying striker Toni Duggan from Everton. This must indeed have been big news, as it featured on Radio 5 Live sports bulletins on the day the story broke. From 2014 the Super League is expanding to two divisions with eight teams in WSL1 and 10 in WSL2. There will be promotion and relegation for the first time. As part of the process to become part of the WSL, bidders had to commit to matching the funding offered by the FA, which for the first division is £70,000, as well as proving their commitment in the areas of coaching and marketing. Manchester City Ladies had previously been only a bit-part player in the second tier of women's football, the rather confusingly named Premier League. They have only recently formalised their ties with Manchester City FC, but now they are making their intentions clear. City have announced their new management structure for the forthcoming season. Nick Cushing is the new First Team Manager with Leigh Wood as Head Coach. They will also have Kevin Sims as assistant coach and Kurt de Klerk as goalkeeping coach. The new manager is clearly delighted to be taking on the task. "It's a very exciting day for us. We want to play a major role in the WSL and a major role in women's football. We're building a very exciting project, we're taking it very seriously and we're very much looking forward to getting started. "It's a new league and a new adventure for us, but our aim is to be as competitive as we can. “We've got a core bunch of players, but we need to build a bigger squad and develop the culture and environment of the team – that's very important to us, but we're looking forward to the challenge." So there we have it – to all intents and purposes a new club pushing full speed ahead. There can be no doubt they have the resources, the enthusiasm and the backing to be a major force in the league next year. The message to the other WSL teams would seem to be to make sure you get your star players to sign on the dotted line as soon as possible, or City may be making a bid for them. It's a harsh message for those such as Arsenal who have invested in their women's side for a number of years now, but it is the way of the footballing world. Teams go into pre-season training in January and the new two-tier WSL kicks off again in March. We can only look forward to seeing how the newbies fare.  |
| HIV: raising new issues in 2013 Posted: 03 Dec 2013 01:09 AM PST
A recent study of people over 50 living with HIV, The 50 Plus report, shows that older people with HIV – a growing group of around 19,000 adults – are financially disadvantaged compared with their peers and have serious worries about money, poor health, housing and social care. The current unemployment rate for people between 50 and retirement age in the UK is 4.4 per cent, whereas in the group surveyed for the report, it is 23 per cent. Lisa Power, policy director at the Terence Higgins Trust (THT), the HIV charity which ran the survey, told the BBC this was because initially many people became ill and had to give up work after their diagnosis. Others sold up, cashed in their pensions, went round the world and waited to die. And then, as “brilliant” anti-retroviral drugs started prolonging lives, she said, benefits have been cut for people who hadn’t made provision for their old age, leaving many of the older HIV group living on a basic state pension. They may have been unable to get a mortgage and not have expected to need a pension. “We found huge poverty in our study, particularly among those who thought they had a death sentence. Now we’re coming round to understanding that people with HIV have a normal life expectancy.” HIV, first encountered in the early 1980s, was initially a terrifying mystery condition which rapidly killed, but it has been transformed by scientific and community efforts into a chronic condition. It continues to be debilitating and life threatening but if diagnosed and treated in a timely fashion, can be managed into old age. So for those diagnosed in recent years, the treatment is straightforward and they can carry on working and raise a family. In terms of the specific populations examined within the report, it is clear that, while much about HIV and ageing binds them together, each group showed strong and specific characteristics. Gay/bisexual men had immense fears for the future around how care services would cope with gay men, let alone gay men with HIV, and they also faced an ageist gay culture. Black African women had by far the hardest time overall, coping with poverty, poor housing, treatment access and migration issues as well as major HIV stigma within their cultures. White heterosexuals reported considerable isolation and financial concerns. And overall, black African women and white heterosexuals were likely to have been diagnosed more recently than gay/bisexual men, who represented the vast majority of the long-term survivors diagnosed in the 1980s and even the 1990s. Almost 10 per cent of all new HIV diagnoses in 2008 were among the over 50s. And middle-aged women and men who are coming out of divorce or long-term relationships, haven't been dating since the 1970s or 80s before HIV was on the map and have never thought of themselves as the kind of person who might get HIV are now becoming vulnerable. As one woman in the survey remarked: ‘[I feel] overwhelmed by my circumstances and the state of mind I was in that I made myself vulnerable to getting HIV, that I didn't take precautions, that I'm well educated and a well-informed person and I started the relationship and used condoms and then without getting tested we stopped using them and that was a big mistake. ‘I've had to question why I allowed that to happen…’ And it is not only peer support that she feels she is now lacking, but also appropriate medical care and information on the interaction of HIV with other infections and conditions, such as the specifically female and middle-aged problem, the menopause. But this ‘almost 10 per cent were over 50′ means that over 90 per cent were not – so everyone still needs to take care. The Terence Higgins Trust reckons if we all test, we can stop HIV. Click here to find out more, and do that.  |
| You are subscribed to email updates from Women's Views on News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |