AIDS takes high toll among African-American women
A UMNS Report by Kathy L. Gilbert*
Nov. 30, 2006
Men "on the down low" are turning marriage into a risk factor for contracting HIV/AIDS.
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Jane Pernotto Ehrman
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The term "on the down low" refers to men who are having sex with other
men but keeping it a secret, often from their wives or girlfriends, said
Jane Pernotto Ehrman, a national health consultant for the United
Methodist Board of Global Ministries.
The practice is especially high among African-American men because it
is "absolutely not OK to be homosexual" in the black culture, she
added.
The secret is killing African-American women at an alarming rate.
Statistics show AIDS is ranked among the top three causes of death for
African-American women ages 35-44.
"Women are paying a mighty big price in this AIDS pandemic because
many times they are the innocent victims," said Linda Bales, director of
the Louise and Hugh Moore Population Project of the United Methodist
Board of Church and Society.
"In the U.S. as well as in sub-Saharan Africa and other regions,
women contract the HIV/AIDS virus from their husbands who have had sex
outside the marriage," she said. "Sad to say, being married is a risk
factor for AIDS."
HIV/AIDS among black women is three times higher than among Latino
women and 18 times higher than among white women, Ehrman said.
"Sixty-eight percent of all new HIV cases are black women - 75 percent
of whom contracted the disease from heterosexual sex. These women are
your everyday women, wives and mothers."
High rate among youth
HIV/AIDS is also increasing among young people. Ehrman quoted
statistics that show youth and young adults between the ages of 13 to 25
years are contracting HIV at a rate of two every hour.
Another alarming fact is that an estimated 250,000 youth are unaware
they are infected with HIV. By the 12th grade, 65 percent of American
youths have become sexually active, and 1 in 5 has had four or more
sexual partners.
"According to the surgeon general, the HIV virus can be in the body
up to 12 years without having symptoms," Bales said. "The ramifications
of this fact are enormous and can point to the importance of AIDS
testing. If individuals know their status they would be able to make
informed decisions. If people don't know they are infected, precautions
go out the window. Churches can work in partnership with health
officials by serving as places for testing."
The church's responsibility
Ehrman and Bales said the church needs to pay attention to this "human issue" and speak out about it from the pulpit.
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Linda Bales
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"The church has a major role to play in stemming the tide of HIV/AIDS.
It is vital for every congregation to sponsor sessions for young people
on comprehensive sex education that includes a strong dose of AIDS
information," Bales said.
"If the church neglects its faith-based educational role, the church is complicit in the spread of this disease," she added.
It's not about judgment but education, according to Ehrman, who
cautioned that the subject needs to be approached with compassion.
"If you approach it from (the standpoint that) people on the down low
are bad, or make judgments about a person's sexuality and how that fits
biblically, then you miss the whole point," she said.
Ehrman recently talked about these issues at a workshop, "HIV/AIDS
and the Church: A Call to Action," during the National Congregational
Health Ministries Conference held in October in Memphis, Tenn. She also
has conducted the workshop in her United Methodist district in
Cleveland, Ohio.
The program educates the church community about these issues. In the
workshop, she explains what HIV is and how it differs from AIDS. She
also talks about how the disease is transmitted, prevention and who is
at risk. "It is done with frankness so that nobody is talking in code
about anatomy or different risk factors," she said.
Pastors need to know how to talk about HIV/AIDS from the pulpit and
how to handle the fallout from people who may be upset about hearing a
pastor talk about the issue. "In the context of a sermon it needs to be
looked at through Christ's eyes of love, compassion and acceptance,"
Ehrman said.
*Gilbert is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in Nashville, Tenn.
News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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