Last weekend PWN staff and board turned the organization inside out. In other words, we were strategic planning. We’re going backwards and forwards, talking timelines and possibilities. What we know about HIV has changed so much since PWN started offering programming in 1993, and yet some things are similar. We’re not finished our plan yet, but so far it’s been a great opportunity to really think about how to provide support and advocate for  women and improve the capacity of through education, outreach and advocacy.

A diagnosis of HIV means a different life expectancy than it did in 1993. People have the potential to live much longer lives. The introduction of HAART provides possibilities that women could never have expected to have when diagnosed. A frequently heard statement is “I thought I’d be dead within a year, and look at me now.” There’s plenty of reason to be hopeful that we’ll keep hearing that. There’s still work to do to ensure that everyone who wants to access treatment can. 

But living with HIV hasn’t changed in some ways either. Women with HIV still face prejudice and judgment. Individuals talk about it, and PWN itself experiences it. We’ll send out resource information to community health clinics around the province, only to have it returned with a note that reads, “HIV is not an issue for women here.” Our membership statistics tell a different story, though. Women with HIV live throughout BC, and no community can count itself immune. But whether women feel comfortable being open about their status when they know they could receive a “not here” response is a different thing. HIV is still so stigmatized; people will protect themselves by not telling a (nearby) soul. Instead, they’ll find their way to us, and talk with support workers, attend a retreat, and get support safely.

So our strategic planning is not only about individual women, it’s also addressing the communities that think HIV isn’t an issue. Until we can talk openly about it, people aren’t safe to be honest. And that takes a toll on health. As we move along in planning for the next few years, we rejoice that women are able to live longer, fruitful lives. We are excited about the women who can be freely open about their status. But we haven’t lost sight of the women whose lives are carefully guarded. Our vision is “Action and Leadership on Women and HIV/AIDS.” We’re on it.

- Janet

Violence against girls and women is rampant all over the world, but that doesn’t mean we have to accept it.  Violence and its partner, control, are present in many aspects of relationships, social cultures, and laws of many countries. Most people are aware of domestic violence (or intimate partner violence) that uses controlling words, mind games, body language, or physical violence itself. But there are also other forms of control, like social expectations and advertising that dictates how women “should” be. A group of feminist organizations is presenting a series of workshops to bring home the message that women deserve better during Prevention of Violence Against Women week (April 19-26).

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Developing a relationship with your doctor and ensuring she has all the needed information to provide you with comprehensive care is taking a new turn in BC. Our province is introducing an electronic health record system that will be readily accessible by health care providers anywhere in BC. It could improve health care for people who don’t have a regular doctor and have to use walk-in clinics. Any significant issue (an abnormal Pap, for example) would be on your record for all doctors to see, avoiding duplication of invasive tests and making follow up care more likely. In concept, a thoroughly communicative medical network could benefit those who aren’t well connected to care and falling between the cracks. But is eHealth the best way to achieve that? It has several organizations in BC concerned about privacy and security issues.

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There are lots of questions that come up when someone is newly diagnosed with HIV. One of those questions can be, “Can I have a healthy baby?” Many positive women want to have children, and for most women, the answer is yes. HIV itself is no reason to put parenting dreams away, but health care providers across the country may not know that. Women can face stigma and reluctance from care providers when the topic of pregnancy is broached, but new national guidelines to provide reproductive care to positive men and women should make some changes.

PWN is part of a national committee working to develop HIV pregnancy planning guidelines that can be used across Canada. While there are some great facilities in spots across the country (BC’s Oak Tree Clinic is one of them), a set of clear national guidelines would help so that women receive supportive, informed care no matter where they live. Guidelines that can be used to provide services to positive people across the country will help to educate care providers and hopefully work to dispel some of the stigma that positive women and couples experience with pregnancy.

Many members of PWN are moms, and discussions about pregnancy and raising kids often arise in the drop-in. An often asked question is about transmission during pregnancy. If HIV is treated during pregnancy, the transmission rate from mother to baby is less than 2%. Another concern is whether a woman will live to see her children grow up. With advances in treatments and evidence of PHAs living longer and longer, we have lots of reasons to be optimistic (no parent, regardless of HIV status, has a crystal ball to guarantee they’ll live to see their kids grow up).

These national guidelines will be aimed at positive people in various family units. Magnetic couples will be able to get information about getting pregnant safely when the woman is positive and the man isn’t, and vice versa. What if both partners are positive? What if a single or lesbian woman wants to get pregnant?  Care providers and PHAs deserve clear information about options. 

I’ll keep you up to date as things progress. The committee will be meeting at the CAHR conference later this month, and I’ll let you know what happens there. In the meantime, if you want information on pregnancy or pregnancy planning, the folks at Oak Tree would love to hear from you.

- Janet