OPINION PIECE – UNAIDS figures are alarming: every two minutes somewhere in the world, another adolescent girl or young woman is infected with HIV/AIDS. And in sub-Saharan Africa in 2021, young women aged 15 to 24 are three times more likely to contract HIV than young men of the same age. Lucie Daniel, an advocacy expert for the feminist association Equipop, questions the effects of international bodies' wait-and-see approach to leading a feminist fight against HIV/AIDS.
This opinion piece appeared on the Huffington Post website on December 1, 2022.
AIDS – Last July, I attended the AIDS 2022 international conference in Montreal on behalf of Equipop, a feminist and international solidarity association. There, I met feminist activists who have been campaigning for years to raise awareness of the impact of HIV/AIDS on women and teenage girls, and to dismantle the unequal power relations that are the main drivers of this pandemic. Faced with them and in the panels, there was a lot of talk and little concrete political action. On December 1, 2022, World AIDS Day, it is high time to listen to the demands of feminist associations and implement the solutions they propose!
Patriarchal logic, sexual violence, and control over women's bodies
"There are no more excuses. We need bold feminist action to end gender inequality, to challenge taboos around women's sexuality, and to stop depriving women of their fundamental freedoms and autonomy over their own bodies and life choices." This, in essence, is how Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS, introduced the 2020 UNAIDS report on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Beijing World Conference on Women's Rights. Two years later, these words resonate with UNAIDS' latest figures: in 2021, every two minutes somewhere in the world, another adolescent girl or young woman was infected with HIV (see the report in PDF format).
In sub-Saharan Africa, young women aged 15 to 24 are three times more likely to contract HIV than young men of the same age. In France, less than 3% of people using PrEP (a preventive treatment against HIV transmission) are women, even though women account for more than 30% of new infections (Epi-Phare, 2021). This situation is corroborated by evaluation reports from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, which highlight the extremely slow progress in this area. We will not end AIDS without tackling this issue head-on.
To understand the dynamics at work, we must look to the analysis of sexist power relations. These relationships are primarily exercised in the sphere of sexuality. They manifest themselves in various ways: difficulties for women in demanding condom use in heterosexual relationships, sexist and sexual violence that increases the risk of contracting HIV, patriarchal control over women's bodies, and discrimination against HIV-positive women. Furthermore, women also play a crucial role in caring for the sick, compensating for the shortcomings of the social and health systems in many countries free of charge.
These power relations also permeate international organizations working to combat HIV/AIDS. They can be found in the buzzword-filled speeches we hear at international conferences, in the optional nature of sessions on gender, the marginalization of women and feminist activists and their exclusion from decision-making bodies, the recurring absence of gender-based approaches in public policies and funding proposals, the reluctance to change in international organizations fighting HIV/AIDS, and inaction in the face of gender-based and sexual violence.
Overcoming collective inertia and adopting resolutely feminist approaches
Yes, there is an apparent consensus on the importance of combating gender inequality. But this consensus stems more from collective inertia than from a shared desire to change things. International organizations fighting HIV/AIDS cannot pretend that, once established in strategic or governance frameworks, unequal power relations between women and men will resolve themselves. "It is important to remember that even when we sit at the same table, our voices are not equal, " summarize the members of Women 4 Global Fund, an association of women mobilized to bring about change within the Global Fund.
For these voices to be "equal" to others, a proactive and resolutely feminist policy is needed. In concrete terms, how can this be achieved? First, by recognizing and documenting the gender dimension of the pandemic, because what cannot be measured does not exist in the eyes of public authorities. Next, by supporting feminist movements and activists in all their diversity and ensuring their representation in bodies with effective decision-making power. At the programmatic level, priority must be given to actions aimed at transforming gender-based power relations, for example through the promotion of comprehensive sexuality education. At the institutional level, technical expertise on these issues must be strengthened in international organizations fighting HIV/AIDS, including in senior positions. Of course, the fight against gender-based and sexual violence must be made a political and therefore a budgetary priority.
Finally, because the task is immense, transnational alliances must be built that bring together activists from feminist circles and the HIV community, researchers, and progressive states willing to mobilize their diplomatic efforts on these issues. France, which wishes to pursue a feminist foreign policy, must play a particularly important role in building this momentum.
The issue of power has always been central to the fight against AIDS, which has been pioneering and has shaken up the established order in many ways. Today, we must fight sexist power relations with the same force.
The issue of power has always been central to the fight against AIDS, which has been pioneering and has shaken up the established order in many ways. Today, we must fight sexist power relations with the same force.
