"Take The Test, Take Control" HIV does not discriminate!

National HIV Get Tested Day Sunday June 27, 2010
The HIV epidemic is still going strong in the United States today and this fact has been masked by the struggles of everyday life such as hard economic times, job loss, oils spills and unpredictable weather patterns. Yet every nine and a half minutes someone is infected with HIV in the United States. The Human Immunodeficiency Virus is still very relevant!

It is still fully encouraged that people go out and get tested particularly this weekend! Sunday June 27, 2010 is the National HIV Testing Day. The National HIV get tested day was founded on June 27, 1995 and is organized by the National Association of People with AIDS (NAPWA) in partnership with the Center for Disease Control(CDC). The initiative beckons for people everywhere to get tested and know their status. The NAPWA advocates for everyone to know their status but they mainly targets at risk groups like African Americans mainly African American women, Latinas, and gay men. HIV/AIDS is the leading cause of death for African American women in the United States today. African Americans only make up 13% of the U.S population, but they make up 49% of people who get HIV/AIDS. More than one million people are living with HIV in the U.S and approximately one in five of those are unaware of their infection. That breaks down to about 250,000 people who are living with the infection and do not know it. For some people who are HIV positive and do not know, they may not show any symptoms and even if one may feel healthy the HIV is still effecting their body. Early detection in many of cases can be all the difference between life and death, this is why NAPWA encourages everyone to get tested.

Barriers in HIV prevention:
One of the biggest barriers in HIV prevention comes from abstinence only education. Abstinence only until marriage education is taught to the youth all over the country, yet it does not properly equip young people with a comprehensive sex education. Most importantly it does not tell these youth the most important part which is to use a condom. But this is not only a youth issue, Crisis Pregnancy Centers do the same thing with adults. Misleading people by telling them condoms do not work and won’t protect you against HIV.

HIV is just as much a social issues as it is a medical issues, and issues of race and class are overwhelming in who gets infected and how long they survive. So whatever you decide to do this weekend please make time to go get tested, and bring a friend. Afraid of needles? No problem, there are many different forms of HIV testing which include a quick and painless swab of the mouth!

Latinas Empowered for Action Conference

This past weekend I attended the Latina Empowerment in Action Conference held by California Latinas for Reproductive Justice at California State University Northridge. This was an amazing conference filled with feminist fun. The conference consisted of workshops, group exercises, discussions and games(which I did not win).

The attendees ranged from students,organization representatives, and the Los Angeles general population. Women were able to network, share ideas, and come up with strategies to empower their community.

The Workshops ranged from coalition-building training to advocacy and policy training. The exercises that followed focused on situational strategy planning and teamwork in building and following bills and policies.

The discussions offered the attendees a chance to sound out on the issues they feel greatly affect the Latina and immigrant population. What was shared, and the focal point of the conference, was the introduction and development of the intersection of issues in the lives of the Latina community. Words like child care, workers rights, reproductive care and access, gender, domestic violence, political power, sex education and access, sexuality, environmental issues, and access to health care, filled the board describing the Latina women and immigrant experience.

Here are the photos from the event.




***I have put together a video, but excuse the logo of the video software I used.It goes away halfway through.


For more info, check out: California Latinas for Reproductive Justice
(213) 270-5258 (telephone)
info@clrj.org

HPV Vaccination Immigration Requirement Rescinded

Effective December 14th, young women who are seeking legal permanent resident status in the United States will no longer be required to be vaccinated against the Human Papillomavirus (HPV). According to the Federal Register, "while HPV may be an age appropriate vaccine for an immigrant applicant, HPV neither causes outbreaks nor is it associated with outbreaks...Further, HPV has not been eliminated, nor is in the process of elimination, in the United States. Therefore, because HPV does not meet the adopted criteria, it will not be a required vaccine for immigrant and adjustment of status to permanent residence applicants."

The requirement was originally implemented in July 2008 and was mandated by the Federal Immigration Authorities. It applied to immigrant women ages 11 to 26 who were seeking permanent resident status. Women's and immigrant rights groups argued that the requirement, which is gender-specific and costly, is discriminatory.

After the announcement Friday, Rocio Cordoba, Executive Director of California Latinas for Reproductive Justice, said in a statement, "We commend the CDC for recognizing that all women and girls--regardless of their immigration status--must be treated with dignity in the context of any medical procedure, including the HPV vaccine. As reproductive justice advocates, we strive to ensure that women and communities have valuable information, coupled with the resources and power to make well-informed and uncoerced decisions about their bodies."

California Latinas for Reproductive Justice worked in coalition with the National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum and the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health to work against the requirement. Additionally, more than 140 related organizations signed on to a letter against the requirement sent to Center for Disease Control Director Thomas Friedan, MD.

Source: Feminist News

Image Credit: Sarah G... on flickr.com