Empowering Girls and Women: Reducing HIV Risk through Education

Abstract

Education is very important to women and girls who are at the greatest risk of contracting the HIV virus. However, more emphasis is needed to look at the information on how education improves the transmission of HIV among girls and women and also reduces the inequalities of gender roles which are able to increase infection rates. There is a growing evidence that a significant proportion of girls are able to postpone first intercourse, protect themselves against HIV and AIDS through safer sex practices and advocate condom use in combination with regular HIV testing through an effective sexuality education curriculum. Additionally, as women who have greater control over their sexual and reproductive health are less likely to engage in activities that expose them to HIV, education promotes gender equality, which is crucial in lowering HIV risk. Education provides a complete response to the epidemic by tackling the underlying factors that contribute to HIV susceptibility, including as poverty, gender-based violence, and early marriage. Girls and women who receive education are more capable of fending against forceful and exploitative circumstances that may expose them to HIV.

Keywords: HIV prevention, gender equality, women’s education, adolescent health, empowerment