HIV AND AIDS AMONG WOMEN IN SLUMS
HIV AND AIDS AMONGST WOMEN IN SLUMS
Slum;
An overcrowded urban street or district inhabited by very poor people. Living in low quality housing, infrastructure and poor drainage systems etc.
Kenya in particular has several slums e.g. kibera, korogocho, mathare just to name but afew.HIV\AIDS in slums is about 14% higher than the rest of Kenya. However, HIV and AIDS are very high in slums and mostly amongst women. It is impossible to know the HIV and AIDS prevalence rate among slum residents. This is because it is impossible to collect accurate data due to the fact that urbanization is taking place on a daily basis. Therefore, the population in slums is transient and due to this reason HIV and AIDS is likely to fluctuate greatly.
Women in slums are the most infected with HIV and AIDS this is due to several reasons namely:
Poverty;
Its said that poverty is the route to all evil and this has not spared women and small girls in slums either. Reason both young and old women have to fend for their families as most are single parents in slums. since this women in slums rarely engage in income generating activities they are disproportionately infected with the virus through prostitution (commercial sex work)and this is between ages of as low as 5-24 years.
Rape;
Recently during the post election violence there was high recorded rape incidents in both small girls and women in slums. This is due to the fact that HIV+ men took advantage of the unrest and raped women whenever they got a chance and also due to their believe that having intercourse with a virgin will reduce the viral load and cure the virus in case it is an infant below 5 year.They end up rapping infants to date.
Traditions and customs ;
Some communities have customs and tradition that have lead to the spread of HIV and AID e.g. the luo community practice wife inheritance whereby if the husband dies the wife is inherited by the brother therefore incase the spouse succumb to HIV and AIDS they end up increasing the spread of the virus. Other communities believe that they should not visit a hospital due to their faith and hence cannot take any medication therefore, if they were born with or contracted the virus they will not know and hence continue spreading the same unconsciously.
Pregnancy;
Women in slums live below the poverty line and before the recently introduced free maternity treatment there was a fee to be paid during antenatal clinic visits and hence they could not afford .this lead to spread of HIV and AIDS to the child if the mother was infected which would not have been the case.Recently since their is free maternal care the spread of the virus to the child is currently on the high as they breast feed their infants to avoid neighbours and friends know their HIV and AIDS status.
Stigmatization;
Once a woman in a slum is considered pregnant the whole community has eyes on her. Hence if she is infected she is forced to breastfeed in order to conceal her HIV status due the fact that she is positive to avoid discrimination.she is accused of bringing the virus to the family.This stigmatization in slum has led women to commit suicide and others to relocate to other slums in order to start a new life where nobody knows them and by doing so they end up spreading the virus in the belief their husband brought it to them and also to make themselves feel good since they have fallen into depression.
Unsuccessful antiretroviral medication and education in slums hence increasing the severest of the virus to AIDS.
Hard drugs;
Women in slums end up working in bars within the slums that brew illicit brew e.g. busaa which is a traditional illicit brew.They end up taking the brew which gets them drunk and end up being taken advantage of or engaging in sexual activities with multiple and random men which in reality puts them at a very high risk of contracting the virus.While other young women in slums are taken advantage of by the rich they are used as peddlers for drugs eg bhang,heroine,cocaine to sell to their peers inorder for them to earn an extra coin to help pay house rent or put food on the table .They end up using the drugs eg injecting heroine using a shared niddle and cringe as buying a new one is an expense they can't afford to incurr inorder to forgo a meal.example is majengo slum in Mombasa where tourists have destroyed lives of young women through drugs like heroine and a great percentage of young women in this slum are heroine addicts and HIV positive due to the niddle sharing as they inject the drug.
In conclusion, barriers to HIV and AIDS prevention in slums amongst women are numerous particularly due to challenging circumstances of resource .Indeed to begin a successful intervention the state, voluntary and private sector partnership must be in place.
Article by;
ANN NDUTA .
Slum;
An overcrowded urban street or district inhabited by very poor people. Living in low quality housing, infrastructure and poor drainage systems etc.
Kenya in particular has several slums e.g. kibera, korogocho, mathare just to name but afew.HIV\AIDS in slums is about 14% higher than the rest of Kenya. However, HIV and AIDS are very high in slums and mostly amongst women. It is impossible to know the HIV and AIDS prevalence rate among slum residents. This is because it is impossible to collect accurate data due to the fact that urbanization is taking place on a daily basis. Therefore, the population in slums is transient and due to this reason HIV and AIDS is likely to fluctuate greatly.
Women in slums are the most infected with HIV and AIDS this is due to several reasons namely:
Poverty;
Its said that poverty is the route to all evil and this has not spared women and small girls in slums either. Reason both young and old women have to fend for their families as most are single parents in slums. since this women in slums rarely engage in income generating activities they are disproportionately infected with the virus through prostitution (commercial sex work)and this is between ages of as low as 5-24 years.
Rape;
Recently during the post election violence there was high recorded rape incidents in both small girls and women in slums. This is due to the fact that HIV+ men took advantage of the unrest and raped women whenever they got a chance and also due to their believe that having intercourse with a virgin will reduce the viral load and cure the virus in case it is an infant below 5 year.They end up rapping infants to date.
Traditions and customs ;
Some communities have customs and tradition that have lead to the spread of HIV and AID e.g. the luo community practice wife inheritance whereby if the husband dies the wife is inherited by the brother therefore incase the spouse succumb to HIV and AIDS they end up increasing the spread of the virus. Other communities believe that they should not visit a hospital due to their faith and hence cannot take any medication therefore, if they were born with or contracted the virus they will not know and hence continue spreading the same unconsciously.
Pregnancy;
Women in slums live below the poverty line and before the recently introduced free maternity treatment there was a fee to be paid during antenatal clinic visits and hence they could not afford .this lead to spread of HIV and AIDS to the child if the mother was infected which would not have been the case.Recently since their is free maternal care the spread of the virus to the child is currently on the high as they breast feed their infants to avoid neighbours and friends know their HIV and AIDS status.
Stigmatization;
Once a woman in a slum is considered pregnant the whole community has eyes on her. Hence if she is infected she is forced to breastfeed in order to conceal her HIV status due the fact that she is positive to avoid discrimination.she is accused of bringing the virus to the family.This stigmatization in slum has led women to commit suicide and others to relocate to other slums in order to start a new life where nobody knows them and by doing so they end up spreading the virus in the belief their husband brought it to them and also to make themselves feel good since they have fallen into depression.
Unsuccessful antiretroviral medication and education in slums hence increasing the severest of the virus to AIDS.
Hard drugs;
Women in slums end up working in bars within the slums that brew illicit brew e.g. busaa which is a traditional illicit brew.They end up taking the brew which gets them drunk and end up being taken advantage of or engaging in sexual activities with multiple and random men which in reality puts them at a very high risk of contracting the virus.While other young women in slums are taken advantage of by the rich they are used as peddlers for drugs eg bhang,heroine,cocaine to sell to their peers inorder for them to earn an extra coin to help pay house rent or put food on the table .They end up using the drugs eg injecting heroine using a shared niddle and cringe as buying a new one is an expense they can't afford to incurr inorder to forgo a meal.example is majengo slum in Mombasa where tourists have destroyed lives of young women through drugs like heroine and a great percentage of young women in this slum are heroine addicts and HIV positive due to the niddle sharing as they inject the drug.
In conclusion, barriers to HIV and AIDS prevention in slums amongst women are numerous particularly due to challenging circumstances of resource .Indeed to begin a successful intervention the state, voluntary and private sector partnership must be in place.
Article by;
ANN NDUTA .
The issue of wife inheritance is a very outdated practise but some communities surprisingly practice it... The cause of death for the husband of the widow may be HIV and one may transmit it to the one who inherited her who will in turn infect his family... It should be highly discouraged since one wouldn't know the HIV status of the widow...
ReplyDeleteKaisy
Very very outdated
DeleteIt's so sad that in most cases if they are unwilling to follow the inheritance rule or traditions they are denounced by families and extended families ,disinherited etc .This forces them to and start life elsewhere and it has made even the spread of HIV increase.like according to statistics kisumu is the highest leading region with HIV infections and in most cases is due to wife inheritance ������
ReplyDeleteAnonymous above is =Ann Nduta
DeleteSure, its either you are with them or you are alone
DeleteI concure with you in all. Most of them do the sexual work due to poverty since they have no other way to earn a living but do not think of the effects. The government should help by building HIV Counselling and Testing places around the slums and this may help the people think of other businesses. By; Samia
ReplyDeleteMost probably the government has not done alot in this
DeleteThe government has be so lazy in doing that Samia but aleast some NGOs and non profit organizations are trying to help out recently eg safaricom has come up with free testing and counseling sessions and if found positive they enrol you into their foundation where they empower infected stigmatized persons in engaging in Creative and income generating activities.This is greatly helping in reducing infections as women earn an income hence nolonger engage in prostitution.
DeleteAnn Nduta
The issue of wife iheritance should be seriously discouraged becouse its outdated..On the other hand, HIV among women on slums is mostly increasing due to this increased number of clubs over there which the womens work. most of them sell the teaditional alcohol which is very poisonous to their minds later enganing in sex with multiple men most likely to spread the virus...victor mutuku
ReplyDeleteI think also there are so may men infected by the virus as well in the slums but they are noy bokd enough to go for test snd livr in denial. Muthoni irene
ReplyDeleteThe government should: take a step further in building institution around the slums so as to equip the people with knowledge about HIV&AIDS ,introduce guidance and councelling sessions on HIV,introduce free medical care for those affect with the disease ,free testing for HIV &AIDS and introduceing community health workers.
ReplyDeleteBy Ian
The government should take initiative measures like ;Introducing free medical check up,establishing medical health cares,free guidance and counceling about HIV&AIDS,introducing community health workers to the people in the slums,establishing institution where people can acquire more knowledge about the disease.
ReplyDeleteBy Ian
The should look for away to improve the standards of living of this people living inslums like;providing health facilities in order for them to be able to check their health status as much as possible by suyianka
ReplyDeleteIndeed poverty among women living in slums is the main cause of getting HIV/AIDS.These women need to meet their children's basic needs either food, education, shelter or other needs, most of them are jobless and this brings about the problem of getting money. One may think of many ways and if she gets no option she is forced to have sex with a man who can provide the money without knowing his HIV status . If this man is HIV positive then probably this woman will be infected.The government should provide jobs for women in slums and also the society should encourage these women to start their own business to meet their children's basic needs.
ReplyDeleteMost people in slum areas are not educated so the government should provide free education,guidance and counseling centers to educate them about HIV/AIDS
ReplyDeleteThe goverment should provide education to the women living in the slums, so as to educate them about this disease, they should also build health facilities where everyone can go for check up for free coz most of this women are from poor families so most of them will not afford the check up fee.
ReplyDeleteVery educative article.
ReplyDeleteRape ! One of my greatest fear under the sun.
Its sad ,devastating and heartbreaking fully grown young men and old raping an infant .
How on earth would that reduce viral road. An infant whose part are still weak, am yet to understand what's so hard with abstinence and using protection whereas condoms are even being offered freely
Very educative article.
ReplyDeleteRape ! One of my greatest fear under the sun.
Its sad ,devastating and heartbreaking fully grown young men and old raping an infant .
How on earth would that reduce viral road. An infant whose part are still weak, am yet to understand what's so hard with abstinence and using protection whereas condoms are even being offered freely
Hellen
Poverty and lack of jobs among the women in slums give them the reason to engage themselves in sex which lead them to the situation of getting infected for since they have needs and yet no ways of fulfilling them. the only wayout is to look for capable men who can fulfill them in exchange for sex without care to know wether those men are HIV positive.
ReplyDeleteMost of the poorest people in the slums
ReplyDeleteare women who often engage in commercial
sexual transactions as part of survival strategies
for themselves and their dependent.
There is huge lack of education when it comes
to health in our communities,and it's important
to just be aware of your resources and what
you can do to avoid preventable conditions
and disease.
Through inheriting wives HIV/AIDS spread quickly in the family because like for example if the husband to the widow died with virus when brother in law marry the widow . ...the brother in law will b infected,he will infect his wife with virus and also the baby that is if the wife is pregnant.. Inheriting shld b stopped
ReplyDelete..Zamzam
I think poverty is the key factor as to why women in the slums engages themselves as commercial sex transactions so as to earn an income ,,, providing an in depth view of their vulnerability to HIV/AIDS due to their precarious socioeconomic conditions and low AIDS awareness. The women cites lack of education, low empowerment in expressing and accessing information related to sexual matters, and poverty as key factors to vulnerability.
ReplyDeleteBy Pauline mbithe
It's very sad to know their are people who believe that having sex with virgin will cure HIV and yet the disease have no cure
ReplyDeleteIt's very sad to know their are people who believe that having sex with virgin will cure HIV and yet the disease have no cure
ReplyDeletePoverty is a root to all evil. Women who engage themselves in sexual activities to sustain their lives should be discouraged from that it and thought about the disadvantages. the rich people should not take the advantage of others being poor and transmit the disease to them. The drug users should also learn to control themselves well after drinking or avoid using drugs for their well being. Naomi
ReplyDeletePeople living in the slums definitely lives below the poverty line which will attract them most probably to work as commercial sex workers to earn their income.,whereby there is high chances of being infected with Hiv/Aids among the women.In the case of women taking drugs or selling in the slums is also very risk because it will encourage sex activities thus infection of Hiv.I think the government should provide employment for people living in slums and ,improve the institutions to better living standards by christine
ReplyDeleteNot every woman in the slum had any choice regarding the spread of HIV/AIDS or contracting it .It is due to their needs and helping their children and sometimes are forced to prostitution since most of them have dropped out of school and no one is gonna hire them .
ReplyDeleteMany women,,,,,,,especially young girls in slums are prone to be infected with hiv , most young girls are raped due to poor protection and others have sex to support their families i.e prostitution ,,,,,since younger women are prone to the disease more than older women ......by Immaculate
ReplyDeleteIt's true most of women in the slums are the poor,have been neglected by their relatives and even the society.These has led many of them to decide to go to the slums may be to cater their needs like educating their kids,to have so something to eat.Due to this various reason they find themselves engeuging in unsaved sex inorder to get some money.so its good people like those to be educate and also government should offer some amount of money to avoid this.BY FAITH
ReplyDeleteHaving sex with a virgin is just a myth that people should understand especially this men to reduce the spread of Hiv to this small innocent girls
ReplyDeleteBy Faiza
If the issue of insecurity and sexual violence in slums is addressed, it can confer protection among young girls and woman. Addressing risky sexual practice such as early sexual debut is also one of the strategies which can lead to lower HIV rates among woman who dwell in slums.
ReplyDeleteIt's up to the government to intervene in the slums.They should focus on enhancing health facilities and free maternity services. With that women living with HIV will at least protect their children from inheriting it. ARVs also should be provided in fever of the infected. Awareness should be created to help in reduction of percentage infection rate. They should also be educated on how to manage life with HIV.
ReplyDeleteMaureen
Government should introduce education on Hiv and AIDS on those living in slums since most of the family there are not educated due to poverty which is the main cause of young female engage in prostitution which leads to spread of AIDS.
ReplyDeleteThe chances of HIV and AIDS is very high in slum areas among women.This is whereby women may engage in unprotected sex inorder to get money to satisfy their daily basic needs.Thus high chances of getting infected.
ReplyDeleteI think for the side rape ..that believes of having intercourse a virgin girl will reduce their viral load and cure them is not true....by Rahma
ReplyDeleteCreating awareness and educating people on how the disease can be spread and how to prevent it could be very important for them because they will have concept of this disease hence the rate of reducing will be high
ReplyDeleteWomen in slums, especially those under 24, are much more likely to experience high rates of
ReplyDeleteviolent sexual contact than men.In fact, nearly half of Kenyan women report being victims of
sexual violence. Victims of violent sexual encounters are particularly vulnerable to HIV
transmission during the act because of genital trauma, multiple perpetrators, and the associated
risk of STIs . This is a likely contributor to higher rates of HIV in this population
Some times justified as aprotection for the widow and her children several cultural groups practice the traditional customer of widow inheritance (liverate marriage) which occurs when awidow is inherited by amale in-law the brother of the decesed who takes her as his wife.by Zahara
ReplyDeletePoverty has led to prostitution which the government should take action in eradication of poverty this is because a woman would do anything to feed her family not taking consideration of the negative outcomes such as STDs but due to corruption the NYS fund cannot help the poor in slums which its purpose was to raise living standards of pple thus taming the pendamic
ReplyDeletePoverty being the big esue to why HIV is spread widely, through which some of the house wife's practice sex with the landlords for extra cash the esue being that the little the they are left with by there husbands ain't enough. Thus some get infected in the process and continue spreading to their husband's.
ReplyDeleteConcerning poverty, them that seek money through prostitution and in the end get HIV as a result should be given jobs which give them revenue and by rhis, prostitution and the spread of HIV will die
ReplyDeleteThe people who are living in slum are highly affected by hiv and aid since the enter into sexion action withough protection
ReplyDeletePeople living in the slums really need assistance. The government should ensure that there are health centres in the area . To add on that the government should conduct campaigns on HIV and how to prevent HIV .
ReplyDeletePoverty has also led to prostitution due to lack of ither important jobs. Women in the society have been dragged into prostitution . Prostitution is risky because it is imposible to know ones HIV status. Women realise later that they are positive yet they don't know from whom they acquired the virus.
Most people not only the women are infected by HIV but also they get it from men.Poverty is the leading cause of getting infected.Most people get infected through sexual act in order to get money to cater for theit needs
ReplyDeleteIts said that poverty is the route to all evil and this has not spared women and small girls in slums either. Reason both young and old women have to fend for their families as most are single parents in slums. since this women in slums rarely engage in income generating activities they are disproportionately infected with the virus through prostitutio
ReplyDeleteHiv infection for people living in the slum is very high especially women because they may be engaging into unprotected sex in order to earn a living or for survival needs
ReplyDelete