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This paper analyses how TIME magazine represents sub-Saharan African women in its coverage of HIV/AIDS. As rates of infection escalate across the continent, researchers are increasingly emphasising the need to understand the socioeconomic and cultural contexts that make women particularly vulnerable to infection. Yet popular media representations of AIDS continue to rely on older colonial imageries of Africa as the feminised, diseased 'dark continent'. This article identifies three major themes in TIME's representation of sub-Saharan African women and HIV/AIDS: the metaphor of Africa as a woman in crisis, the construction of women as the means of transmission, and the engendered nature of the debate about the impact of international development policies. It is argued that the reliance on familiar cultural narratives often obscures the epidemiological, economic and cultural realities within which sub-Saharan women live. Not merely a consequence of unprotected sex, AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa is also the result of global economics and politics, reflecting the inequities between the West and Africa, male and female, white and black. The paper concludes with a call for further research on the role of representations of HIV/AIDS and its actual routes of transmission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the link between heterosexual marriage and women's vulnerability to HIV in Indonesia. In this country, gender relations are currently dominated by traditional beliefs and practices and by religious morality. Data for the current study were collected by means of documentary analysis and archival research as well as by means of expert informant interviews. Findings suggest that traditional practices such as polygamy, early marriage and contract marriage (mut'a) play an important role in enhancing women's likelihood of acquiring HIV within the Indonesian context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the experiences and concerns of women participating in a short-term AZT intervention feasibility study to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission at three sites in India. The study used qualitative methods to examine the experiences of 31 women during late pregnancy, delivery and at post-natal visits. It also elicited the perspectives of 19 healthcare providers. Frequent visits required during late-pregnancy and the post-natal period presented concerns for the women in the study. Women's understanding of the long-term implications of participating in the intervention study was poor, and living with uncertainty about the HIV status of the newborn was a major concern. The provision of psychosocial support is essential in future intervention studies and should be incorporated on an ongoing basis. Networking with women-centred support groups may be helpful in enabling women to gain the long-term benefits of this type of intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines the context of women's risk for HIV by assessing men's and women's sexual behaviour, attitudes towards sex work, and perception of risk for HIV in the city of Chiang Mai, Thailand. The findings are based on data collected in the mid‐1990s, at the height of the epidemic. A range of significant issues were highlighted by the men and women who participated in this study. First, some men continued to have unsafe sex with sex workers. Second, fear of HIV motivated men to seek out friends and acquaintances instead of sex workers for sexual encounters because they were considered ‘safe’ from infection. Third, women in this study were largely unaware of this expansion of the sexual network beyond the sex work itself. Lastly, women's sexuality was largely unrecognized in public health responses, or by the male and female participants, leaving them at risk for HIV. Résumé Dans cet article, l'auteur explore le contexte dans lequel la femme risque d'attraper le virus du Sida dans la ville de Chiang Mai en Thaïlande. Il examine le comportement sexuel des hommes et des femmes, leur attitude vis‐à‐vis des métiers du sexe et la perception du risque d'attraper le VIH. Ses conclusions sont tirées des données recueillies au milieu des années 90, au plus fort de l'épidémie. Les hommes et les femmes qui participèrent à cette recherche soulignèrent un certain nombre de thèmes importants. Tout d'abord, certains hommes continuaient à avoir des rapports sexuels non protégés avec des professionnelles du sexe. Deuxièmement, au lieu d'avoir recours aux professionnelles du sexe, les hommes, étant donné leur crainte du Sida, étaient conduits à chercher des partenaires sexuels parmi leurs amies et connaissances car ces personnes étaient censées ne présenter aucun danger par rapport à l'éventuelle transmission du virus. Troisièmement, les femmes qui participèrent à cette recherche ignoraient en grande partie cette extension du réseau sexuel au delà du milieu professionnel du sexe proprement dit. Enfin, la sexualité des femmes était en grande partie méconnue de ceux chargés de promouvoir la politique de santé publique; les participants hommes et femmes n'en tenaient pas compte non plus, ce qui mettait les femmes en danger d'attraper le VIH. Resumen En este artículo examino en qué contexto las mujeres corren el riesgo de contraer VIH valorando la conducta sexual de hombres y mujeres, las actitudes hacia el trabajo sexual y la percepción de riesgo de HIV en la ciudad tailandesa de Chiang Mai. Los resultados se basan en datos recopilados durante mediados de los noventa cuando la epidemia estaba en su punto más álgido. Los hombres y mujeres que participaron en este estudio destacaron una serie de cuestiones importantes. En primer lugar, algunos hombres seguían teniendo sexo arriesgado con las trabajadoras sexuales. En segundo lugar, el miedo a contraer VIH motivaba a los hombres a buscar amigas y conocidas en lugar de trabajadoras sexuales para sus encuentros amorosos porque pensaban que así estaban seguros de no infectarse. En tercer lugar, las mujeres de este estudio desconocían en gran medida la expansión de la red sexual más allá del trabajo sexual. Por último, la sexualidad de las mujeres en general no era reconocida en las respuestas de salud pública o por los participantes masculinos y femeninos, con lo que corrían el riesgo de contraer VIH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]