Increasing the Involvement of HIV-Positive Women in HIV Organizations

This guide was prepared for use by organisations run by and for people living with HIV (PLHIV) that offer support, services, or advocacy-related work, and is designed to help these organisations to examine how they can empower their women members, as well as integrate gender as part of the organisation. Board members of HIV organisations can use the guide to examine their policies around gender equity, and programme managers can use it when planning future programmes. It was developed at the request of the Asia Pacific Network of People Living with HIV (APN+) and Women of APN+ (WAPN+), a newly formed women’s working group of APN+ that aims to empower women living with HIV in the Asia-Pacific region, with technical assistance from Dr. Susan Paxton.
The guide aims to:

• Raise awareness of women’s issues;
• Provide a user-friendly tool to assess the level of gender equity within organisations;
• Identify ways to enhance the involvement of women; and
• Support the promotion of gender equity in organisational policies and programmes and in the communities served by the organisation.
  

The guide outlines the meaning of gender equity and its importance, the rights of HIV-positive women, and the specific concerns they face. It also provides a questionnaire to examine the level of gender equity within the organisation and some practical steps to address inequities. References with electronic hyperlinks are included at the end of the guide.