When detected, roughly twenty years ago, AIDS was
considered a disease of homosexuals, sex professionals and junkies.
As time flown by, there's been discovered that there's no pattern
as such to the infection by the HIV virus. Its being likely that anyone
might as well acquire it, if has sex without wearing condoms, if shared
needles or in case of health professionals, if pierced by any given
puncturing/cutting device, contamination occurs by contact with blood
or mucosa of infected person, a.k.a. HIV+.
In the recent years, what raises concern of the public
health services worldwide is the increasingly number of infections
by HIV amongst women, mostly married or in steady relationship, loyal
to their partners. Nowadays, women and girls answer for roughly 50%
of infection cases the world over, though in African countries, such
figures may reach up to 60% of infection cases.
Something never thought of at the advent of the AIDS
pandemic was exactly that particular fact, were women considered of
low probability of acquiring HIV, mainly if were in steady relationships.
According to surveys, the culprits of passing on infection to those
women are their partners, in having homo and hetero affairs, as sheer
consequence they end up by acquiring it and thus, their wives.
Ultimately, AIDS is setting a pattern of contamination
of young women, regardless of ethnic, social sphere or cultural background.
Yet, that comes to show that more babies may be born HIV + and the
women who were once caretakers, is now being taken care after. What's
more, the serum positive women stand bigger likelihood of developing
certain types of cancer in the uterine cervix.
There mustn't be forgotten that groups of risk no
longer exist, albeit, risky situations. In addition, for modern women
this situation is of non-precaution taken during sex. It becomes even
harder when relation is already laid out, and asking a sex partner
to wear condoms isn't such easy task after all, all the way around,
there might trigger off rows, discomfort and distrust within the couples
relation.
Most men dislike having to wear condoms and of being
in a steady relation, tend to ask that the couple wear no condom any
longer, protecting themselves against undesired pregnancy through
contraceptives.
The woman, in turn, ends by agreeing with her partner,
it's all but forgotten that both had previous sex lives, could in
any given moment of their lives have an extramarital affair and wind
up by being infected by the HIV virus.
It's down to the woman to do her part and protect
herself. In marriage, a man might get angry in the first place, not
accepting the use of preservatives, even grows weary that his woman
is having an affair extramarital. In this particular case, dialogue
would play differential, other than imposition of condom wearing.
Try to show to the partner that AIDS is rather present in the life
of human beings than ever imagined and devise ways of rendering a
condom part of sexual-linked fetishes would turn sex as safe as blissful.
Not such easy task at all, but imperative to be tried
out, since only truly awareness by women as well as men would be able
to breakeven the number of HIV infections. Bear with me that this
sexually linked disease has no foreseeable cure and even with the
employment of medication, whoever carries it would not lead a normal
life anymore.
Anne Griza
Psychologist |
