World AIDS Day

A Candid Look at Black Women and AIDS for World AIDS Day
By Ruth Houston

World AIDS Day (December 1) is a good time to take a candid look at the frightening statistics on Black women and AIDS. According to the Center for Disease Control, Black women are infected with HIV/AIDS in numbers grossly disproportionate to their demographics. Since World AIDS Day is about awareness and education, let’s look at the hard, cold facts.

Facts About Black Women and AIDS

• Black women, who comprise only 12 to 13 percent of the U.S. population, account for approximately 70 percent of new AIDS cases.

• One out of 160 Black women is HIV positive, compared to one in 3,000 white women.

• Approximately 20 Black women in America become infected with HIV every day.

• 67% of black women with HIV contracted it from heterosexual sex.

• Black women are more than a dozen times as likely to be infected with HIV than their white counterparts.

• AIDS has become one of the top three causes of death for Black women aged 25-34.

At the 2005 National HIV Prevention Conference, CDC researchers reported that new HIV infections are rising among blacks, women, and people who get the virus through heterosexual contact.

Many health care professional believe the rise in HIV/AIDS among Black women is directly related to Black men "on the down low"— gay or bisexual men who secretly engage in sex with other men while they’re in relationships with women. A man on the down low who has unprotected sex with other men puts his unsuspecting female partner at risk for HIV/AIDS.