Women are vital in changing how we think and talk about HIV/ AIDS in our relationships, our families, and our communities. ~ Alicia Keys
Alicia Keys wants to change the way YOU think about HIV. Learn more at www.greaterthan.org. Find out what inspired Alicia to take up the issue of women and HIV in America, and learn more about what YOU can do in your everyday life today. From whom it affects to what a life with HIV can look like to how we can all make a difference, let’s change the way we think about HIV.
Of the more than 1.1 million people living with HIV in the U.S. today, one in four is a woman. Women of color have been disproportionately affected. One in 32 Black women will contract HIV today if current trends continue.
“Women are vital in changing how we think and talk about HIV/AIDS in our relationships, our families, and our communities,” said Alicia Keys. “When we empower women to have a voice and share their stories to help educate and bring understanding, we’re taking charge in the fight to make the end of AIDS a reality.”
“Media plays a powerful role in confronting the stigma that still surrounds this disease. With VH1’s support, EMPOWERED will reach millions of viewers across the country with information about HIV/AIDS and real stories of women who are both living with HIV and thriving,” said Tina Hoff, Senior Vice President and Director of the Health Communication and Media Partnerships program at the Kaiser Family Foundation.
A focal point of the EMPOWERED campaign is a conversation between Ms. Keys and five women living with HIV. Each week, VH1 will feature a new spot profiling each of the EMPOWERED women and their stories, including:
• Cristina, a graduate student from the San Francisco Bay Area who was born with HIV;
• Eva, a home health care worker living in Atlanta with her family.
• Jen, a wife and mother in Portland (OR) who has been living with HIV for more than 20 years
• Kym, a young professional living in Texas who learned she was positive after her new husband became sick and died as a result of HIV
• Stephanie, a recent college graduate from North Carolina, who appeared in an MTV special on youth and HIV last year
They each open up about their lives in the hopes of showing other women that we are all empowered in this fight.
HIV is both preventable and treatable. For those who are positive, there are highly effective therapies today that improve health and extend life, as well as help prevent the spread of the disease. Research confirms that people living with HIV who are on regular antiretroviral treatments reduce the chances of passing the virus to sexual partners by as much as 96 percent. Furthermore, according to the CDC, condoms are highly effective in preventing the spread of STDs during sexual contact.
Yet, despite the progress of the past three decades since the first diagnosis, stigma and misconceptions continue to be significant drivers of HIV today, keeping many from taking actions – such as talking openly, using protection, getting tested, or staying on treatment – that can stem the spread of the disease.
Launched in March 2013, EMPOWERED highlights the power of women – as mothers, daughters, sisters, friends, partners, and people living with HIV – to change the course of this disease through everyday actions.
For more information about Greater Than AIDS and the EMPOWERED campaign, visit: www.greaterthan.org/empowered.
