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A new document by the International Labour Organisation discusses the effects of the spread of AIDS on women, both at home and in the workplace, and the factors that render working women particularly vulnerable to HIV
"The greater the gender discrimination in societies and the lower the position of women, the more negatively they are affected by HIV ."(ILO Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS and the World of Work)
 Today, of the 40-million-odd people living with HIV/AIDS about half are women. Women are now becoming infected faster rate than men. In many African and Caribbean countries, infection rates among young women (under 24 years) are two to six times higher than among young men.
Worldwide, most of those infected by HIV/AIDS are working men and women, the mainstay of families, communities, enterprises and economies. The epidemic is changing the dynamics of the labour force -- experienced, skilled workers are dying, children are being forced to work and a greater burden is being placed on women.
The traditional domestic and nurturing roles of women mean that they bear most of the burden of care. This not only adds to their workload but also undermines the vital productive, reproductive and community roles they play. For instance, a 2003 UN Population Division study in Tanzania found that women whose husbands were sick spent up to 45% less time doing agricultural or income-earning work than they did before illness struck.
Although education is a key defence against HIV infection, girls are the first to be taken out of school to help with care or to earn much-needed income. For instance, twice as many affected households took girls out of school as they did boys, according to a survey in three South African provinces (UNAIDS).
The workplace mirrors, and sometimes exacerbates, gender inequalities and discrimination present in society. Women are often in positions of weakness and dependence at the workplace. Many experience sexual and economic subordination in their personal relationships and at work, and so cannot negotiate safe sex or refuse unsafe sex, making them especially vulnerable to HIV infection.
For instance, research in Kenya's export industry revealed that violence and harassment of women were commonplace. Over 90% of those interviewed had experienced or observed sexual abuse at the workplace (International Labour Rights Fund).
Poverty contributes to the spread of HIV, and women make up 70% of the world's poor, reflecting their limited access to employment, property, credit and income.
Acknowledging the issues
Worldwide, women face a similar set of issues and problems that expose them to the risk of HIV infection. They include:
- Discrimination, unequal property and inheritance laws, and lack of education opportunities limit women's income-earning capacities and help perpetuate inequality between men and women.
- Women who have lost partners to AIDS, or who have been abandoned because they are HIV-positive, are often deprived of financial security and economic opportunities.
- The impact of poverty forces women to resort to sex for survival or to continue in relationships with men who refuse to practise safe sex simply because they are financially dependent on them.
- Power imbalances at the workplace expose women to the threat of sexual harassment.
- Women's burdens are intensified when families are affected by HIV because they have to provide care in addition to maintaining or boosting household incomes.
- Certain work situations increase the risk of HIV infection. Women who travel on work or who migrate to find work, and the spouses of migrant or mobile workers; women who are in a small minority at the workplace; female domestic workers, especially those who live at their place of work; and commercial sex workers.
Finding solutions and taking action
In a number of places, far from being victims women are leading the community response with prevention and care initiatives. However, governments, employers and trade unions have a vital role to play in changing attitudes and practices in the workplace and the community at large.
Social factors that place women at a disadvantage -- including laws, statutory benefits, taxation and the lack of childcare provision -- must be challenged and changed. Women who are financially independent are better able to negotiate the conditions of sexual relationships; better-educated women are in a stronger position to protect themselves.
Specifically, the ILO Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS and the World of Work recommends that e mployment policies and practices be reviewed to address gender inequality in the context of HIV/AIDS by:
- Opposing discrimination at work and promoting equal opportunities.
- Providing workplace education for men and women on sexual and reproductive health, men and women's social and economic roles, family responsibilities, working time, etc.
- Avoiding work patterns that separate workers from their families for prolonged periods, and providing facilities for rest and recreation, or family accommodation whenever necessary.
- Ensuring that business practices do not encourage risky behaviour. For example, encouraging alcohol abuse, entertaining clients through sex services, etc.
- Zero tolerance for violence and harassment against women at work, making it a disciplinary offence.
- Extending workplace medical facilities to workers' families.
InfoChange News & Features, March 2004
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