National Day of Women Living with HIV

Women living with HIV are often overlooked when we discuss HIV. However, women make up more than half of the 38 million people living with HIV around the world. Many of these women live in other regions around the world, such as Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Australia. On March 9 each year, we celebrate the lives of women with HIV in Australia.

In 2020, it was estimated over 29,000 people were living with HIV in Australia. Approximately 3500 are women, or 10% of people living with HIV in Australia.

While the number of women living with HIV is fewer than men who have sex with men (MSM) in Australia, their needs and voices are equally important. Often with very different lived experiences and needs, women living with HIV in Australia have had to advocate fiercely to have their voices heard.

The HIV Futures 9 report (2019) surveyed the quality of life of people living with HIV and found the following results affecting women living with HIV:

• There is minimal research on the needs of women living with HIV, and only a small number of programs cater to women.
• The majority of women living with HIV indicated their income was below the Australian average, with more than half of them meeting criteria that would indicate experiencing financial stress.
• Many women also indicated food and housing insecurity at higher levels than male respondents in the survey.
• Health messaging and quality of care varied greatly depending on the various services women accessed.
• As allies for people living with HIV, the SAMESH team encourage women living with HIV to contact and assist us in creating opportunities for women living with HIV in South Australia.

National Day of Women Living with HIV Morning Tea

To celebrate and acknowledge the National Day of Women Living with HIV, SAMESH will be hosting a morning tea at the David Roche Foundation House Museum.

This will be an outdoor event hosted in the well-kept gardens of this fabulous museum to ensure we maintain a COVID-safe environment for everyone who attends. Guest speakers will touch on the importance of amplifying the voices, unique needs and experiences of women living with HIV.

Attendees also have the opportunity to visit the Silhouettes exhibition currently on display, which showcases an extensive collection of fashion pieces created by designers whose lives were lost to HIV/AIDS.