A Comment in the Series says that HIV infections continue to rise in drug-involved women,especially injecting drug users in Asia and eastern Europe, and in crack-cocaine users in the USA and other countries. Women who use drugs are doubly at risk for HIV infection via unprotected sex and unsafe injections. The Comment is by Dr Nabila El-Bassel, Columbia University School of Social Work, New York, USA, and colleagues.
Many women who use drugs lack the power to negotiate safer sex. Yet, most available HIV-prevention strategies put the onus on women to insist on safe sex, increasing their risk of physical and sexual abuse. The authors say: "Drug-involved women often rely on their partners to procure the drugs that they share, and because women are often injected by their partners, they are 'second on the needle', which increases their risk for infection by HIV and other pathogens. Refusing to share needles and syringes can also increase women's risk of physical and sexual intimate partner violence, further potentiating risks for HIV infection."
The authors propose a number of strategies to prevent HIV infection in women who use drugs:
Dr Nabila El-Bassel, Columbia University School of Social Work, New York, USA. T) +1 917 209 0328 E) ne5@columbia.edu
Alternative contact: Jeannie Hii, Director of communications at Columbia University School of Social Work. T) +1 917 445 9557 E) jeanniehii@gmail.com
For full Comment see: http://press.thelancet.com/drugshivwomen.pdf
For all Comments in the Series, see: http://press.thelancet.com/drugshivcomments.pdf
The Lancet