Increasing HIV infection rates among women

Women are increasingly affected by Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), while sexual transmission has become the primary form of HIV infection and is affecting more women than men, according to findings of a research released by a United Nation Forum on AIDS Tuesday.

The forum, entitled with the theme of "Women, Gender Equality and HIV," aims to raise awareness of eliminating discrimination against women living with HIV and strengthening support to affected women.

The research found that the gender ratio of people living with HIV is narrowing. For example, the proportion of affected women increased from 15.5 percent in 2000 to 40.3 percent in 2009.

Conducted by the National Center for AIDS/STD Control and Prevention (NCAIDS), the research analyzed data in 2011 from six provincial regions of Henan, Yunnan, Hubei, Guangdong, Chongqing and Guangxi.

According to the report, 32 percent of women reported that they were infected through their husbands and 9 percent of men reported to be infected by their wives, while separate research in 2012 in provincial regions including Yunnan, Henan, Sichuan, Chongqing and Guangxi showed that the number of people infected through spousal transmission is increasing, mainly from male to female.

"Women whose husbands are in high-risk groups of infection, for example, having homosexual intercourse, using prostitutes or sharing needles, are always forgotten but they need more support to get rid of inequality in gender relations, stigma and discrimination," said Guo Ruixiang, a program coordinator from UN Women.

Three documentaries on the stories of female sex workers and women who live with HIV were also released at the forum.

Lanlan, an executive at the Tianjin-based non-profit organization Xin'ai Female Sex Workers' Home, said that many sex workers will give up using condoms at their clients' request to make more money.

"When we distribute condoms to them, they refuse to accept them since the police would search for condoms as evidence to identify them as sex workers. It's really difficult for us to spare more intervention efforts and more government support is needed," she said.