Despite recent reports that new HIV infections are declining among Black/African American women, black women remain heavily impacted by HIV. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that at some point in her lifetime, one in 32 Black women will be diagnosed with HIV compared to one in 106 Latinas, and one in 526 white women.
While Black women don’t necessarily engage in riskier behaviors than women of other ethnicities, a range of complex factors places them at greater risk for HIV. Generally, Black women may be at increased risk for HIV because, proportionately, there are more people living with HIV in the Black community, increasing the chance of exposure with every sexual encounter. Higher rates of sexually transmitted infections, not knowing your (or your partner’s) HIV status, stigma, fear, discrimination, negative perceptions about HIV testing, and socioeconomic issues associated with poverty, e.g., limited access to healthcare, housing, and HIV prevention education, are also contributing factors.
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source: BlackDoctor.org
