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Treatment Monitor: Sexual and Reproductive Intentions
Many HIV positive women after dealing with the initial hurdle or diagnosis and treatment express the desire to choose to have a child. Work has been done in this area by various researchers. There is a clear need to develop more work in this area. This is of particular importance as HIV positive women begin to feel better on treatment and decide to choose to have a child. Contraception for women on HAART is not well understood. In some areas in South Africa there are reports of women being forced to have injectable contraceptives as some HAART drugs are contra-indicated in pregnancy. It is also unclear which contraceptives would to suitable to use as the emphasis has been on using condoms. There are clear interactions with particular hormonal contraceptives not being ideal in combination with certain HAART drugs and IUDs being viewed as possibly causing uterine infections.
There are areas of research interested in people’s sexual behaviour and what is termed’ sexual risk behaviour’ following the taking of HAART. Some of the language implies judgemental attitudes. Some studies refer to ‘sexual disinhibution’. Disinhibition is a term used in a psychological diagnosis which implies’ reckless and promiscuous’ type behaviour. While there will always be a small percentage of people who are promiscuous, the orientation of the study appears to judge the population as a whole. The possibly of women’s experience of sexual violence and lack of agency in negotiating safer sex is not generally explored or correlated. Findings generally report on women as most respondents recruited in clinics are women and are surprised to note high levels of unsafe sexual expression. Women’s sexual rights are not given. This kind of research which doesn’t acknowledge the contextual realities of people’s sexual intentions is of concern.
- Reproductive Choice for Women and Men Living with HIV:Contraception, Abortion and Fertility
Delvaux T, Nöstlinger C. Reproductive Health Matters 2007; 15 (29 Supplement): 46–66
- Women’s Health Research Unit – Di Cooper - 'Diane Cooper@uct.ac.za’
- AIDS Legal Network (ALN)
- International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS
- Sexual and Reproductive Health for HIV-Positive Women and Adolescent Girls Manual for Trainers and Programme Managers
- RHM article on HIV testing and sexual and reproductive health and rights
- ATHENA: As the world enters the third decade of the global HIV/AIDS pandemic, women - especially the young and the poor - are increasingly affected. Because gender inequity fuels HIV/AIDS and HIV/AIDS fuels gender inequity, it is imperative that women and girls speak out, set priorities for action, and lead the global response to the crisis. ATHENA was created to realize this imperative. The Network builds upon the work of individuals and entities who have been committed to this challenge for years, and intends to use coordinated, collective action to advance their efforts further. ATHENA members are working actively towards the realization of the Barcelona Bill of Rights, a guiding document for the Network that was first promulgated at the 2002 International AIDS Conference.
- Brief: Meeting the Sexual and Reproductive Health Needs of People Living with HIV, written by Heather Boonstra of the Guttmacher Institute, is published jointly by the Guttmacher Institute and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).
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