Greater
Empowerment for Black Women
By Phill
Wilson
President
and CEO of the Black AIDS Institute
March is Women's History
Month, and next Wednesday, March 10, is National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS
Awareness Day, a campaign that promotes greater awareness for women of how to
keep from becoming infected with HIV.
This exercise is
particularly important for Black women because while most Black people know the
facts about HIV, many times we don't act as if we know.
Although Black women
account for 12 percent of women in the United States, they make up almost 70 percent of
women believed to have AIDS. The AIDS rate among Black women is nearly 22 times
higher than that of their White peers. In 2006, AIDS was the third leading
cause of death among African American women ages 25 to 44. Tragically, many of
the young women who die became infected as teenagers.
But just as Harriet Tubman,
one of the most celebrated women in Black history, transcended her
circumstances by first escaping slavery and then creating a way for others to
save themselves, every Black female can both protect herself from HIV and help create an
environment in which other Black people can protect themselves. But how can
Black women do this in a world where they shoulder disproportionate family
responsibilities, are often poorer and in worse health than other women, and
are frequently abused and disrespected? And how can our community help them?
One of the most important
decisions that a Black woman can make is to find out her HIV status. Hilda
Hutcherson, M.D., a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Columbia University Medical Center, says it best: "If you love
yourself, you will insist upon your partner getting tested, and you will insist
that you get tested as well." Even today, one in five Americans living
with HIV don't even know that they have it. But there is no longer any excuse
for this state of affairs. HIV testing is readily available--often at no or
reduced cost--at many doctors' offices, public health centers, community
outreach events and churches. And if you're scared of blood or needles, you can
ask for an oral test, in which a swab is merely run across the inside of your
cheek. Generally results are available in less than an hour. But no matter
which method you select or where you decide to get it done, every sexually
active Black woman needs to get HIV-tested at least once a year--and more often
if you have more than one partner, are concerned about your partner's sexual
faithfulness, or are uncertain of his or her status.
Black women can also
empower themselves by taking greater control of their lives--sexual or
otherwise. Most women have the power to decide whether or not they will be
intimate with someone and what the intimacy will entail. But there are a
tremendous number of factors--from not having enough money, to feeling a low
sense of self-worth, to worrying about violence in their relationships--that
keep Black women from expressing this power in every aspect of their lives,
including sexual decision making. Our community needs to support Black women as
they make constructive choices about life--about education, childbearing, their
future and, of course, their sexual well-being. We also need to change our
cultural norms to celebrate a woman loving herself and having enough
self-esteem to carry condoms and insist on using them.
On top of that, it's
essential that Black women start taking better care of themselves--mentally,
physically, emotionally and spiritually. Between caring for their children, handling
their job, looking after their elders and keeping up with their partner's
well-being, many Black women place self-care last on their list of concerns. We
need to change that aspect of Black American culture.
It's time that we allow
Black women to place themselves at the top of the priority list so that they
can make healthier food choices for themselves and everyone else, find time to
exercise, obtain their degrees or upgrade their skills, and engage in other
replenishing activities. Because the truth is, when a Black woman becomes ill
or her well-being otherwise suffers, the community of people depending on her
struggles as well. For women who are already HIV positive, taking care of
yourself includes seeking medical treatment and adhering to the drug and
self-care regimen that your doctor prescribes. Black women can save themselves
because Black women are
greater than AIDS.