SOROPTIMIST PROGRAMS EMPOWER WOMEN AS POVERTY, GENDER INEQUITY FUELS HIV/AIDS

November 6, 2007
Contact: Jessica Levinson, Communications Director, 215-893-9000 x 129
Kamali Brooks, Public Relations Manager, 215-893-9000 x 130

PHILADELPHIA, Pa.—On World AIDS Day, December 1, Soroptimist—a volunteer organization for business and professional women that works to improve the lives of women and girls in local communities and throughout the world—voices concern about the poverty and gender inequity that fuels HIV/AIDS, a disease that is infecting more of the world’s women today than ever before.

“We’ve all heard the term the ‘feminization of AIDS’ but that doesn’t begin to define the scope of the situation and the factors that feed it,” said Leigh Wintz, Soroptimist’s executive director. “When women are poor and suffer discrimination and disempowerment, they are most susceptible to being infected with HIV/AIDS. That’s why the Soroptimist mission of improving the lives of women and girls is so critical.”

Today, 17.7 million women age 15 years and older are living with HIV, 48 percent of the global total according to a report from UNAIDS and WHO. In Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America, an increasing proportion of people living with HIV are women and girls. In the United States, AIDS is the leading cause of death for African-American women between 25 and 34 years of age.

“Our programs such as the Women’s Opportunity Awards and Soroptimist Club Grants for Women and Girls, provide economic tools and skills so women and girls can achieve financial empowerment and independence,” Wintz said.

Wintz especially noted the new Soroptimists STOP Trafficking program, being launched on January 11 in the United States on the first-ever National Day of Human Trafficking Awareness. The project, also being marked on December 2 (the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery) outside the U.S., hopes to make the public aware that too many women and girls today are being trafficked against their will into sexual exploitation and prostitution. They are most at risk for HIV/AIDS.

Because poverty and gender inequity are two of the principal factors fueling this disease, Soroptimist also has joined forces with the Women’s Edge Coalition in support of passage of the Global Resources and Opportunities for Women to Thrive Act (GROWTH Act, S.2069/H.R.
2965) which would make the United States a leader in reducing poverty and promoting economic and educational opportunities for women and families worldwide.

“More information about the Soroptimists STOP Trafficking program, our involvement with the GROWTH Act, an article about women and AIDS featured in Soroptimist’s award-winning Best for Women magazine and other information about our programs to help women and girls is available on our website (www.soroptimist.org),” Wintz said. “Our name Soroptimist translates to ‘best for women’ and that’s what we constantly strive for, not just on World AIDS Day but every day of the year.”

Soroptimist, a 501(c)(3) organization, offers programs that improve social and economic conditions for women and girls. Programs include the Women’s Opportunity Awards, which provides cash grants for head-of-household women seeking to improve their lives with the help of additional education and training. Each year, more than $1 million is disbursed through this award-winning program. In recognition of the power of women and their dreams, Soroptimist also sponsors the Live Your Dream campaign. Visit the campaign's online home at: <www.liveyourdreamcampaign.org>. Visit Soroptimist’s main site at <www.soroptimist.org> to learn more about the organization and its work on behalf of the world’s women and girls.

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