Correcting gender inequalities is central to controlling HIV / AIDS [editorial]

Although HIV/AIDS is a global epidemic the majority of people living with HIV/AIDS are in sub-Saharan Africa. It is a leading cause of death in that region and a serious public health problem with southern Africa being the most affected. Sub-Saharan Africa is the only part of the world where HIV prevalence and AIDS deaths are higher for women than for men. The gender dimension is therefore vital to understanding how HIV is spread: the concept facilitates an analysis of how men’s and women’s roles increase vulnerability to the disease. In every society males and females — who by nature are biologically different — are expected to behave in prescribed ways. In some cultures in southern Africa men are expected to have multiple partners while women are expected to be monogamous; the age of marriage is often lower for females than for males and men are expected to have younger sexual partners. Common law and customary laws reinforce these expectations. (excerpt)