Hi everyone - it's time again to pull out your red shoes (or, if you're like me, share the news about rocking red shoes because you don't own any) and use fashion to raise awareness for how much HIV/AIDS is still disproportionately affecting women of color. (And women in general, but really, really affecting women of color.)
Some Facts
- There are approximately 1.1 million people living with HIV/AIDS in the U.S. and almost 280,000 are women.
- 1 in 139 women will be diagnosed with HIV/AIDS at some point within their lives.
- Among those who are HIV positive, 35% of women were tested for HIV late in their illness (diagnosed with AIDS within one year of testing positive).
- HIV/AIDS is the 5th leading cause of death in women in the United States, ages 25-44.
- High-risk heterosexual contact is the source of 80% of these newly diagnosed infections in women.
- HIV/AIDS disproportionately affects minority women in the United States. According to the 2005 census, black and Latina women represent 24% of all US women combined, but accounted for 82% of the estimated total of AIDS diagnoses for women in 2005.
- HIV is the leading cause of death for black women aged 25–34 years. The only diseases causing more deaths of women are cancer and heart disease.
- The rate of AIDS diagnosis for black women was approximately 23 times the rate for white women and 4 times the rate for Latina women.
- Teen girls represent 39% of AIDS cases reported among 13–19-year-olds. Black teens represented 69% of cases reported among 13–19 year-olds; Latino teens represented 19%.
How to Rock The Red Pump
- Share the hotness by uploading your pics on March 10 to your favorite spot (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, your blog, etc.) and tag them with #RockTheRedPump.
- Sign up to blog about #RockTheRedPump.
- Read 5 Easy Ways to Rock the Red Pump
- Get tested. Here's a tool to help you find a testing center in your area.
- Educate yourself and your extended family about sexual health and disease transmission.
- Retweet, share and support your red-pump-wearing friends.
