Thoti Mallikarjuna

Socio-economic & Psychological Problems of Women Living with Aids Thoti Mallikarjuna

HIV and AIDS continue to be one of the most challenging developmental issues in human history. In the third decade of the HIV pandemic, women particularly young women and girls have become a growing proportion of those affected and infected.2009 estimates, suggest national adult HIV prevalence of approximately 0.34 percent, amount 1.8 to 2.9 million people living with HIV in India. One third of the AIDS cases are among the youth in the age group of 15-29 years who are the future citizens of the country. HIV with a focus on empowering women, must account for the attitude and behavior of men which are largely conditioned by socio-cultural gender norms that accrue more power and control to men in respects than women, in the traditional patriarchal setting which continues to bind and determine the lives of women even today to a large extent. Influencing the mind set of people and bringing about a change in their attitudes and behavior is more often than not faced with severe resistance and is by no means a simple task. The lack of knowledge about how to bring about normative changes, improve accountability motivate programme personnel to consider and address gender issues.