( It is alarming news that there is a ste...)Many young women affected by HIV,Health

It is alarming news that there is a steep rise in the number of young women infected by HIV. The statistics were seen in Canada. The reason attributed to this phenomenon is lack of education and feeling of empowerment. // Many still fear asking and asserting the use of a condom.

"The statistics tell us there's a huge problem for women," says Louise Binder, 55, vice-chair of Voices of Positive.

Of the 2,529 new HIV cases reported in 2004, 26.6 per cent were women, as against the figures of 1996, when women accounted for just 10.5 per cent of all HIV cases.

The numbers are even more alarming for those under age 29, with women accounting for 42.4 per cent of the 524 new cases in that age group in 2004 — compared to just 13.2 per cent a decade ago.

Besides the reasons mentioned above several other reasons are injected drug use, new immigrants who are already infected and cultural barriers to condom use.

"A big part (of the increase) is women coming to Canada from endemic countries. Both men and women from endemic countries are more likely to be infected with HIV and they may not be diagnosed until after they're here in Canada.”, says Dr. Rita Shahin, associate medical officer of health for Toronto and the person in charge of communicable diseases programs and STD infections.

In fact, of the 657 women diagnosed in 2004, 19.6 per cent were immigrants from HIV-endemic countries, primarily from Africa and the Caribbean

"Young women still feel very much that they can't negotiate safer sex practices with their partners," she says. "In some cases it's the threat of violence. In some, it's socialization, economic independence.

As rightly put by Stephen Lewis, U.N. special envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, “We don't have a couple of generations to change sexual behaviour. The women are dying now, today”

Dr. Rita Shahin says the Toronto Public Health Department does a lot of work wit
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