What Women Want: Issues and Opportunities through the Life Cycle

Girls and women are at the centre of the AIDS response. Factors including age, ethnicity, gender inequities, disability, sexual orientation, profession and socioeconomic status compound to influence girls’ and women’s ability to protect themselves from HIV. Programming efforts must recognize the complexity of the everyday lives of girls and women as they mature and grow and build the response around their needs. Placing the individual—not the virus—at the centre of all our efforts creates the space for inclusion of the diverse opportunities and needs of girls and women and improves HIV outcomes.