"Women Taking Care of Ourselves": A Women and HIV Forum and Resource Launch
News Release
Toronto: May 12, 2004 --- The Women’s Outreach Network (WON) announced today that it will host a forum on HIV and risks for Canadian women, to be held May 20th, 2004 at Women’s Health in Women’s Hands (WHIWH).
The forum aims to bring together people and organizations within Toronto to discuss the reality of HIV for women living in the city and its impact on their service access, health management, quality of life, and family.
From 6 p.m. until 9 p.m. the Women’s Outreach Network will present the Women Taking Care of Ourselves HIV testing brochure, which is produced in English, French, Portuguese, Amharic, Tigrinya, Somali, Swahili, Hindi, Tamil, and Spanish. In addition, a panel of activists from health and social service organizations will address, and discuss with participants, HIV risks, HIV status disclosure, sexuality, homelessness, family, and immigration.
"As HIV rates have tripled among Canadian women over the last seven years, it is important to begin talking about the HIV realities for local women. Gender-based dominance, poverty, low self-esteem and lack of HIV awareness exist right here among women of all ethnicities and socio-economic status," says Tania Smith, Women’s Community Development Coordinator at the AIDS Committee of Toronto (ACT) and Chair of WON. "All women who have unprotected sex or share needles in drug use are at risk for HIV. However, as new arrivals comprise over 52% of Toronto’s population, it is critical to provide services and information in relevant languages in order to facilitate informed decision-making."
The Women’s Outreach Network (WON) is a pro-choice, anti-oppression group of individuals and organizations working together to develop, support, enhance and increase access to effective HIV/AIDS services for women.
For more information, please contact:
Tania Smith (Women’s Community Development Coordinator, ACT) at 416-340-8484 ext. 264 or tsmith@actoronto.org