Untitled Document

Vulnerable Groups

Which lessons do we want to learn?
A Delhi Commission for Women’s survey of 400 sex workers in Delhi has thrown up some interesting data that could help make the government’s anti-trafficking and anti-HIV policies more effective. But since the data suggests that the state government’s current approach is wrong, will anyone want to learn the lessons it teaches? Read more

Street children and AIDS: a hidden time bomb
No one knows how many street children are at risk of contracting, or have died of, HIV/AIDS. They are not even listed as a vulnerable group, like commercial sex workers and homosexuals. Yet the sexual exploitation and drug abuse that is an inevitable part of their lives, points to a serious problem in urgent need of attention. Read more

Violence against women and HIV/AIDS
HIV-positive women face violence of various kinds but this gets less attention than other forms of violence against them. A workshop in Kolkata, ‘Understanding Violence against Women and its Implications for our Struggle against HIV/AIDS’, discussed this problem based on the findings of a six-month study by researchers. Read more

New approaches to contain HIV risk among IDUs
Injecting drug use is an important risk factor for HIV in India. The entire South Asian and South East Asian region has shown an alarming increase in injecting behaviour.While voluntary abstinence is the best cure, it has a poor success rate. We need to look at more innovative and effective approaches being successfully tried out elsewhere Read more

Why women are increasingly at risk
World leaders and policymakers are concerned that an increasing number of women are getting infected with the HIV virus. Latest trends show that nearly half of all people living with HIV/AIDS worldwide are women Read more

Sexual taboos hamper India's fight against AIDS
With talk of sex in Indian society taboo, male to male sexuality is hardly recognised in HIV research and policy-making.And yet, the country's male homosexual population is estimated at a considerable 50 million Read more

The 'new' face of HIV/AIDS
The increasing number of women having HIV/AIDS in India, most of them not from groups traditionally considered high risk, has faced government and NGOs with a new challenge. Read more