Guttmacher Institute Publishes Reports on HIV Stigma in China, Child and Adolescent Marriage
The Guttmacher Institute published several HIV-related articles in the June issue of its journal International Family Planning Perspectives. Summaries appear below.
- "In China, Negative Attitudes Toward HIV-Infected People Are Associated With Risky Behavior": The article reviews a study conducted by Hongjie Liu of the Preventive Research Center at Wayne State University and colleagues published in the December 2005 issue of the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections. According to the article, the study finds that migrants in China who stigmatize HIV-positive people are more likely to engage in behaviors of higher sexual risk and less likely to protect themselves than other migrants (London, International Family Planning Perspectives, June 2006).
- "Protecting Young Women From HIV/AIDS: The Case Against Child and Adolescent Marriage": Shelly Clark, assistant professor at the University of Chicago's Harris Graduate School of Public Policy, and colleagues examined data from health and demographic surveys conducted in 29 African and Latin American countries and looked for factors that might increase the risk of contracting HIV for married women ages 15 to 19. The study finds that young, married women in many countries frequently have unprotected sex, are much younger than their spouses and have sparse access to HIV/AIDS education information. The study says that many HIV "prevention strategies (abstinence [and] condom use) are not realistic options for many married adolescents," concluding that new prevention strategies -- including delaying the age at which adolescents can legally marry and encouraging safer sex within marriage -- are necessary in some countries (Clark et al., International Family Planning Perspectives, June 2006).