SOFIA launches in the House of Commons
23rd of November, at 12 noon at the House of Commons, former Irish President
Mary Robinson helped to officially launch SOFIA, a new UK-based women's forum set up to:
- Strive towards effective, long-lasting policy change, to provide prevention and better access to treatment for women living with HIV and AIDS
- Promote awareness amongst organisations, influential individuals and women so that they commit to fighting the HIV and AIDS pandemic
-Promote inclusion and access to their rights for women living with HIV and AIDS throughout the world
SOFIA was founded by Lesley Bulman-Lever, chief executive of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS), and Dr Alice Welbourn, chair of the International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS (ICW) with other influential women from different sectors who have come together to influence key opinion formers.
The Problem
Almost 20 million adults living with HIV worldwide are women. Since 2002, the number of women living with HIV has risen in each region. HIV infection rates among women globally continue to rise much faster than among men. For most women HIV is not an avoidable disease. They have no choice with whom they have sex, nor can they demand safe sex.
When diagnosed as positive the stigma they face affects them and their families, in the home and at work. There are still very few HIV-positive women in the UK who dare to speak openly about their status. This is a shocking reflection of the continued lack of public understanding of the human rights issues these women face. SOFIA aims to break this vicious cycle and give HIV positive women a voice.
Lesley Bulman-Lever, founder member of SOFIA and chief executive of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) said:
Mary Robinson helped to officially launch SOFIA, a new UK-based women's forum set up to:
- Strive towards effective, long-lasting policy change, to provide prevention and better access to treatment for women living with HIV and AIDS
- Promote awareness amongst organisations, influential individuals and women so that they commit to fighting the HIV and AIDS pandemic
-Promote inclusion and access to their rights for women living with HIV and AIDS throughout the world
SOFIA was founded by Lesley Bulman-Lever, chief executive of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS), and Dr Alice Welbourn, chair of the International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS (ICW) with other influential women from different sectors who have come together to influence key opinion formers.
The Problem
Almost 20 million adults living with HIV worldwide are women. Since 2002, the number of women living with HIV has risen in each region. HIV infection rates among women globally continue to rise much faster than among men. For most women HIV is not an avoidable disease. They have no choice with whom they have sex, nor can they demand safe sex.
When diagnosed as positive the stigma they face affects them and their families, in the home and at work. There are still very few HIV-positive women in the UK who dare to speak openly about their status. This is a shocking reflection of the continued lack of public understanding of the human rights issues these women face. SOFIA aims to break this vicious cycle and give HIV positive women a voice.
Lesley Bulman-Lever, founder member of SOFIA and chief executive of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) said: