Ending Gender Inequality: A Key to Stopping HIV

[umaralansari]

I see... Comments have to be APPROVED, eh?

Information control... Nice... :)

[AIDSvideos]

umaralansari - It's no secret that I've turned on YouTube's comment moderation feature for this channel. The AIDSvideos web site has a documented comment policy. Click the "Comment Policy" link for a description of the policy and the reasons for it.

[umaralansari]

Western researchers on AIDS in the 80s stated the virus has bio-engineered characteristics.

The likeliest reason for the wide and deep impact of AIDS in Africa and other places is AIDS-contaminated vaccination programs...

I would contend that if AIDS were not a bio-engineered population control vector directed at poor, populous nations, we would see the deepest impact of the virus in highly-promiscuous Western populations.

[AIDSvideos]

"Western researchers?" There's a stereotype for you (as well as a complete failure to cite sources in a verifiable way). Go to the AIDSvideos web site and click the links "Myths" and FAQ." Those pages debunk claims that HIV is man-made. Briefly, it's been found in stored blood samples dating to 1959, genetic studies indicate HIV-1 originated in humans around 1931, and at that time, technology didn't exist to bioengineer a virus.

[jdk209]

Men in India go to sex workers because they have to wait to get married.  Young women get married sooner. So there is a large population of young single men who can't find a woman to be with so they go to sex workers. How is that problem going to be solved?

[umaralansari]

Pity this video concentrates on exploitation of women in "developing" nations, so-called...

As if male faithfulness in 'developed' nations is some kind of standard to go by... That old "promiscuous negro" racial propaganda canard... Allied to the "oppressed woman" canard... The abuse of women in Western 'developed' nations is endemic, going by statistics. Women here are routinely treated as sex objects regardless of all the spin.

[AIDSvideos]

umaralansari - This video neither states nor implies that promiscuity is correlated with any racial or ethnic group, nor does it use the offensive racial term you did, nor does it stereotype any racial or ethnic group. If there's anyone who seems in the grip of racial stereotypes, it's you, who see them in a video where they are not in fact present. Abuse of women is a problem everywhere, but in general, higher per capita income and democratic rule correlate with a lower rate.

[menderfire9]

One thing not mentioned is how poor nutrition, malnutrition and a poor immune system greatly contributes to acquiring HIV through sex. The general public does not understand this because the industrialized system does not want us to know and except these facts. HIV is not only due to sexual exploitation but nutritional compromises and exploitation too. People of all incomes eat so poorly they are at increasing risk of all diseases. The poor are at highest risk, including STDS & AIV & AIDS

[aidskilla]

and if a woman is experiencing problems from her culture, take up a new one what the hell. one might say, why should she have to give up her culture? well the answer is: THE CULTURE DISCRIMINATES AGAINST THEM. also, please define for which cultures that this is for. oh and i just realized that this person probably isnt you thats lecturing. butttt i just disagree.

[aidskilla]

WHAT THE HELL. hiv is spread through gender inequality? ok. makes sense to me.

[Janvierireland]

They cant just leave because they are poor and also to learn how gender inequality is related to the spread of hiv/aids listen to this video.This situation is mostly in the developing world.

[Sismiques]

@aidskilla

It is more bias against males.

[Janvierireland]

I dont really want to discuss condoms any more than I already have.But via messages is ok.

[Janvierireland]

Unfortunately condoms and artificial contraception does not mean sex with respect and love.

[AIDSvideos]

True. Condoms and artificial contraception are not the same thing as sex with respect and love. (Although they can be part of it, as when a married couple decides they don't want to have more children and uses them for contraception.) You're raising good, broader questions. However our focus in the video series is on the narrower issue of preventing the spread of HIV.

[Janvierireland]

"However our focus in the video series is on the narrower issue of preventing the spread of HIV."And Gender Inequality.I understand that.But in western society(see the media:porn and the objectification of women generally are an influence) women are seen as sex objects and unfortunately most of the time married as well as unmarried men use condoms to take women for granted-using sex only for pleasure.This is just most of the time the situation as regards condoms.

[Janvierireland]

What does a woman do if she cannot avoid rape?Let herself be raped???And the legal system is against her?What does SHE do on her own?-as gender equality would take a long time to achieve.

[AIDSvideos]

I agree that gender equality will not happen overnight due to cultural resistance and the existing male/female legal, political, and economic power imbalance in many countries. However, there is no alternative to achieving gender equality. So long as women are second-class citizens legally, economically, and/or politically, they will suffer many problems. In particular, they won't be able to deter rape or leave abusive marriages with their children.

[AIDSvideos]

This is Eric. Unfortunately, I'm not an expert on what individual women who are facing gender discrimination should do in their individual situations today, and since countries differ, I doubt there's one universal answer, and definitely not one that will fit in a 500 character YouTube comment field. As a layperson, I'd encourage them to find legal support organizations in their country and seek advice or found such organizations if they don't exist.

[ittybiti]

thank you!!! this is perfect for my paper...

[gurlzone]

Excellent sociocultural analysis of gender power relations and HIV. Thank you!