linden_jay

I have been lucky.

To date, this disease has yet to touch my life, or the life of anyone I know personally. And I think we get complacent, and forget that it isn't just something that happens to someone else, somewhere else. Somewhere that isn't here, and isn't "us". Whatever "us" means.

But.

When my aunt and uncle's marriage was ending, he confessed to her that not only had he had a series of girlfriends/mistresses/whatever the term, but he'd been sleeping with random hookups on pretty much every business trip that he'd taken, which was a lot. That when he couldn't find someone who was willing to have sex with him for free, that he'd paid for it. And that he hadn't always practiced safe sex.

And my entire family, from her children, to my then eighty year old Nana, spent a year holding our breath as she went in for test after retest, until we were finally able to breathe freely again. Negative. She was lucky. Others haven't been.

Please. Support World AIDS Day.

I saw this on commodorified's journal, where she's speaking about the International AIDS conference, specifically about the issue of women's rights in curbing the spread of HIV/AIDS.

These words are hers, not mine, but I 100% share the sentiment.

AIDS is not an epidemic because of women -- or men -- who say yes to consensual sex.

AIDS is an epidemic because there are so many women who can't say NO.

Who can't say no to early marriage.
Who can't say no to forced marriage.
Who can't say no to rape inside or outside marriage.
Who can't say no to forced or coerced prostitution.
Who can't say no to partners who have unprotected sex with others.
Who can't say no to the people who want to deny them access to safer sex supplies.
Who can't say no to people who want to deny them access to contraception, even when they already know they are HIV positive.
Who can't say no to men who don't want to be bothered with condoms.

If you believe in abstinence as a religious duty and choice, that's your perogative to believe, hold to, and teach. AS a religious duty.

If after all this time and all we know you still honestly believe that that preaching sexual purity to women has any credibility at all as a primary means of controlling the spread of AIDS, Hepatitis, or any other STD, especially in the absence of even a pretence of gender and sexual equality, you're criminally ignorant.

Originally posted here.

ANNIE LENNOX SPEECH
2005-03-22

Prior to her awesome 10 song set on Saturday evening, Annie Lennox stepped up to podium at the beginning of the live broadcast to deliver an impassioned and pronounced speech on the HIV/AIDS crisis and its effective on African women in particular.

( 'We have come here tonight to bring your attention to an unacceptable situation.' )


(Copied and pasted from where I found it- read the original page here.)