Women and AIDS: Statewide Forum Oct. 15 on Rapidly Growing Problem
20th Anniversary of AIDS Action Committee Spotlights Issue at Simmons College Forum

BOSTON (October 3, 2003) - A state-wide forum on the rapidly increasing rate of women with AIDS--now the largest demographic group of those newly infected--will be held at Simmons College Wednesday, Oct. 15 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Panelists will include women infected with the HIV virus.

Women are becoming the largest demographic group in terms of new infections. The forum, part of the 20th anniversary of the AIDS Action Committee, will address such issues as why women are quickly becoming the largest group in terms of new infections; the unique medical and psychosocial challenges women face; common misconceptions; and how women can negotiate safer behaviors to reduce their risk.

Sponsored by the Simmons College School of Social Work, the AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts, and the Northeastern University Institute on Urban Health, the forum is free and open to the public. It will be held in the third floor Conference Center, Main College Building of Simmons College, 300 The Fenway in Boston.

The program will include a talk by Dr. Lisa Hirschhorn, director of the Dimock Community Health Center’s HIV Care and a statewide leader in addressing the problem of women and AIDS, as well as a diverse panel of HIV-positive women sharing their personal stories. Panelists include Sophie Lewis, a woman living with HIV, who is director of consumer and policy initiatives for the state Department of Public Health.

HIV infection rates among women are increasing dramatically, especially among women of color. African-American and Latina women together account for 78 percent of AIDS cases reported among women in the nation. In Massachusetts, women account for one-third of diagnoses of new HIV infections.

CONTACT

Diane Millikan
617.521.2364

 

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