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HIV Among Black Women in USA & Colorado
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Haven for HIV positive women
Official laments victims buckling to 'Denzel factor'
Imani Latif, executive director of It Takes A Village, hopes to reduce the disproportionate number of blacks becoming infected with the virus that causes AIDS.
By Fernando Quintero, Rocky Mountain News
October 30, 2007
Imani Latif has seen her share of black women come through her office with tales of romance and unprotected sex.
"We call it the Denzel factor," she said, referring to the dashing black actor, Denzel Washington. "It's that person who is so attractive and irresistible we're willing to take risks."
Talking about the Denzel factor is one way Latif makes the message of HIV prevention relevant to people who come to her for help.
Latif is executive director of Aurora-based It Takes a Village, which provides HIV counseling and support for African-Americans and African immigrants. The goal is to reduce the disproportionate number of blacks becoming infected with the virus that causes AIDS.
In the year ending June 30, 20 percent of 306 newly reported HIV infection cases were among blacks, who make up less than 4 percent of the state's population, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
While women of all ethnic and racial backgrounds represent the fastest-growing risk group for AIDS, black women are 31 times more likely to acquire the AIDS virus than white women, the health department reports.
The reasons are many. Black men have a higher rate of HIV and those with the virus put their partners at risk.
Intravenous drug use and men who are "on the down low," or who secretly have sex with other men who are HIV positive, contribute to the rate of infection in women, Latif said.
She also cited the disproportionate rate of black men in prison, which she called a "breeding ground for HIV." A 2006 report by the Colorado Justice Reform Coalition showed that blacks comprised more than 20 percent of the state's prison population.
For one woman, years of drug use followed by an extended period of denial nearly cost her her life. She and another HIV-positive woman asked not to be identified because of the stigma associated with HIV.
"In 2000, I got a lump in my neck. It just kept getting bigger and bigger. I was tired all the time. I knew what was happening, but I just kept on like nothing was wrong," she said.
"The fear of knowing. The fear of the disease kept me from getting tested," she said. "I didn't want to face reality. I was happy in denial."
By the time she got tested, she had developed AIDS. Drug therapy has since brought the virus down to undetectable levels. She just recently told her three children and other family members about the disease, but has kept it from some others.
"There is still a such a stigma around AIDS in the black community, and so much misinformation. They don't accept you. They judge you. I've had to tell people you can't catch it by touching me. You don't want to tell people you have HIV. They look at you sideways," she said.
For her and other women infected with HIV, the offices of It Takes a Village, a brightly painted storefront off East Colfax Avenue decorated with posters stressing safe sex, are a safe haven.
"That's why I like coming here. I can be me. I can laugh and I can cry with other women. Yes, I'm hiding. But I'm hiding with other people who don't judge me," she said.
Latif stressed her organization's non-judgmental philosophy.
"We have some of the women who stroll Colfax come in for condoms. It's like, 'I know you turn tricks on Colfax, but come on in for a cup of coffee.' "
One African woman who is seeking asylum in the United States said the stigma surrounding people with HIV is even worse in her native country. Concerned about her identity, she even refused to reveal specifically where she was from.
Like others who have found acceptance and understanding at It Takes a Village, she said she has developed a new outlook on life.
HIV and AIDS in Colorado
· The AIDS rate among blacks in Colorado is six times higher than for whites.·
· Black women represent one-third of newly diagnosed HIV cases among women.·
· Black women are 31 times more likely to acquire the AIDS virus than white women.·
AIDS CASES REPORTED THROUGH JUNE 30
· 8,845 people in Colorado infected with AIDS, more than half of whom have died
· 4,200 people living with AIDS
· 3,744 men
· 456 women
· 2,652 white non-Hispanic
· 836 Hispanic
· 624 black
· 38 American Indian
· 28 Asian/Pacific Islander
· 22 other·2005 Figures. Source: Colorado Department Of Public Health And Environment And U.S. Census
HRSA's Women's Health USA 2007 Reports Sharp Drop in HIV-Positive Newborns
The number of U.S. children born with HIV/AIDS has declined markedly since the mid-1990s in all demographic groups, according to the latest edition of HRSA's Women's Health USA.
From 1994 to 2005, the number of non-Hispanic black infants born with HIV/AIDS has declined by 65.6 percent. The drop among non-Hispanic white infants born with HIV/AIDS was more than 80 percent during the same time, while the decline among Hispanic infants born with HIV/AIDS was 40.6 percent.
Women's Health USA 2007 - the sixth annual report on the health status and service needs of America's women - focuses on emerging issues and trends among women across the lifespan.
Other findings of Women's Health USA 2007 include:
· Up to 16 percent of women, usually beginning before age 25, are at risk for the gynecological disorder--vulvodynia. Hispanic women may be at greater risk for this disorder.
· Early prenatal care among racial and ethnic groups with historically low rates of utilization, including non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic, and American Indian/Alaska Native women, has increased by at least 20 percent since 1990.
· In 2004, 23.9 percent of women had untreated dental caries, with non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic women most likely to have untreated caries.
· Serious psychological distress occurs in almost 23 percent of women aged 18 to 25 years, compared to 9 percent of women over age 50.
· In 2005, 72.9 percent of mothers ever breastfed their infants, with Asian/Pacific Islanders most likely to breastfeed their infants (81.4 percent).
· In 2005, 71.8 percent of women aged 18 to 64 had private insurance, 14.6 had public insurance, and 17.8 percent were uninsured.
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