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– The fight against AIDS must be feminist! Follow Equipop at the AIDS 2022 conference in Montreal.

July 28, 2022
News, SRHR, Advocacy, Prevention, Health

The AIDS 2022 international conference opens in Montreal on Friday, July 29. Eagerly awaited by activists around the world, it takes place against a backdrop of eroding progress in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Equipop is on site to join its voice with those of activists and to call on states and international organizations to recognize the need to align feminist and HIV/AIDS agendas.

A context marked by worsening inequalities and gender-based violence

In its annual report, UNAIDS sounds the alarm: the fight against HIV/AIDS is "in danger." For the first time in 20 years, we are seeing setbacks, partly due to the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of screening tests, for example, has fallen. This makes prevention more difficult and raises fears of a future increase in infections. The health crisis has also had the overall effect of exacerbating inequalities, particularly those based on gender, and sexual violence, which is one of the main drivers of the pandemic among women and girls. Feminist organizations have always denounced these inequalities and forms of violence and emphasized the importance of dismantling the sexist power relations that underpin them. But in the face of conventional discourse and political resistance, they still struggle to make their voices heard. It is high time to listen to them and implement the solutions they propose. More than ever, the fight against AIDS must be feminist!

Promoting a feminist agenda in the fight against HIV/AIDS: France's leverage and role

That is why, on the eve of the AIDS 2022 conference, Equipop is publishing a document of recommendations that takes stock of the issues and figures relating to gender equality and HIV/AIDS, as well as the patriarchal logic at work in the pandemic.

[vc_column_text el_id= »https://equipop.org/la-lutte-contre-le-sida-doit-etre-feministe-aids-2022-montreal/ »]It is worth remembering that in sub-Saharan Africa, 25% of new infections occur among adolescent girls and young women (aged 15-24), even though they represent only 10% of the region's total population. Among 15-19 year olds specifically, 83% of new infections are among females. This means that in sub-Saharan Africa, a teenage girl is six times more likely to contract HIV than a teenage boy (sources: UNAIDS, Global AIDS Update 2021 and UNAIDS epidemiological estimates, 2019). Faced with the weight of inequality and gender norms, the biomedical approach is wholly inadequate. We must challenge the sexist social order through a series of political changes. Everyone's sexual rights must be placed at the center of action, alongside the fight against sexist and sexual violence. These changes require the adoption of resolutely feminist approaches.

The document identifies precisely the levers to be activated, primarily by France, to promote a feminist agenda in the fight against HIV/AIDS:

Positioning oneself as a leader of a feminist agenda to combat HIV/AIDS at the international level

Increase funding for the fight against HIV/AIDS and for feminist organizations

Contribute to strengthening gender/HIV expertise and accountability on these issues

Contribute to developing and implementing operational responses for integrating feminist approaches into the fight against HIV/AIDS.

With less than two months to go before the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria replenishment conference, the Montreal conference must be a moment of global remobilization. No less than $18 billion is needed to finance the Global Fund's activities and the implementation of its new strategy, which is more ambitious in terms of gender equality, the promotion of sexual and reproductive rights, and the fight against violence. Canada and France have a special role to play. The Canadian government is now considered a pioneer in feminist foreign policy. As host of the conference, it must increase its contribution to the Global Fund, in line with civil society demands, and with a particular focus on gender and sexual rights. France must do the same, in line with its role as co-champion of the SRHR coalition of the Generation Equality Forum and with the words of Emmanuel Macron, who in 2019 in Lyon emphasized the importance of the links between gender equality, sexual and reproductive rights, and the fight against HIV/AIDS.[/vc_column_text]

Follow Equipop's participation in the AIDS 2022 conference!

During the five days of the conference, Equipop will be on site in Montreal. We will meet with activists and associations from around the world, governments, and representatives of international organizations to identify ways and opportunities to advance this feminist agenda at all levels. Follow us on Twitter !

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