Nobody has an excuse for refusing to wear a condom. Although whiny boyfriends may complain that rubbers numb their pleasure‚ and‚ okay‚ some of us are allergic to latex (there’s always lambskin or polyurethane)‚ it’s never worth risking somebody’s life if you haven’t both been tested for HIV/AIDS.
AIDS is everyone’s responsibility; at the moment‚ men and women account for about an equal number of AIDS cases worldwide. But every year‚ the percentage of women with the disease rises‚ as women can contract HIV from men twice as easily as men can from women. A woman’s vagina is simply more biologically sensitive to the virus than a man’s penis.
Worldwide‚ among people between 15 and 24 years old‚ women carry 62 percent of HIV infections. In Africa‚ it’s estimated that up to 70 percent of people infected with HIV are female. In much of Africa‚ women do not have the power to force their male partners to be monogamous or to wear condoms‚ and rape is shockingly commonplace.
Twenty years ago‚ the Holy Grail for AIDS scientists was a vaccine‚ but that has proven nearly impossible to develop. Now scientists say our best hope to stop the spread of AIDS is microbicides — chemicals that can kill the HIV virus (and other STIs)‚ which a woman can simply apply to the inside and/or outside of her vagina before sex to protect herself.
Unlike the dream of a vaccine‚ an over–the–counter microbicide is on the horizon: we could have one by 2010. About 60 different microbicides (which come in the form of gels‚ creams‚ sponges‚ suppositories and vaginal rings) are being developed by HIV researchers and tested in clinical trials around the world.
“It’s just so desperately needed‚ I can’t put words to it‚” Stephen Lewis‚ the United Nations special envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa‚ and a big advocate of microbicides‚ told the Toronto Star. Bill and Melinda Gates and Bill Clinton‚ who were in Toronto this August for the International AIDS Conference‚ have also thrown their economic and political influence behind the development of a female–controlled microbicide.
Maybe now that such political and economic heavyweights are pushing for microbicides‚ the power of prevention will finally be put into women’s hands. But it shouldn’t have taken this long — HIV has been with us for 25 years‚ and other STIs have been around for thousands of years.
“When you think about it‚ we’re 25 years into a fatal pandemic without a woman–controlled prevention tool‚” Anna Forbes‚ deputy director of the Global Campaign for Microbicides‚ told the Star. “Would that have happened for men? I don’t think so.”