HIV/AIDS in Vietnam: A Gender Analysis


  •  Nguyen Van Huy    
  •  Udoy Sankar Saikia    

Abstract

Global statistics of HIV/AIDS infection reveals the disastrous effects of discrimination against women in the area of human health. Women’s vulnerability to HIV/AIDS reflects their wider social, economic and sexual disadvantages compared to their male counterpart. Although the gender context of HIV/AIDS has received a considerable attention recently, however, in case of Vietnam gender aspects of the epidemic have still been a neglected area of research. Little is known about how gender affects the epidemic as well as how the epidemic affects the life of women. This paper reveals that the gender context of HIV/AIDS epidemic in Vietnam has a much complex reality. Institutions, social norms and opportunity structures, of which “Doi Moi” [Renovation] has become an integral part, combine to create new norms and conditions put women more vulnerable to HIV/AIDS. A gendered strategy is crucial in order to successfully fight against the growing HIV/AIDS epidemic.


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