Vis-à-vis, Spring 1996, Volume 13, Number 3: A National Newsletter on Family Violence
Canadian Council on Social Development
RESOURCES
Sexual Assault and HIV
This bilingual pamphlet discusses sexual assault, risk for AIDS, HIV testing and considerations
for evidence and pressing legal charges. To obtain a copy, contact:
The AIDS Committee of Ottawa
207 Queen Street
Ottawa, ON, K1P 6E5
Tel: (613)238-5014
Fax: 238-3425
Why Women Are Vulnerable to HIV
This 25-page report provides an excellent overview of why women are vulnerable to HIV. Three
important factors are biology, inequality (including cultural, social, economic and health care
concerns) and violence against women. Women's biologic, social and economic issues are very
different from men's and pose a real challenge for workers in the area of women and HIV/AIDS.
This report increases awareness and understanding of the unique factors that place women at risk.
Available in English and French. To obtain a copy of the report, contact:
National AIDS Clearinghouse
1565 Carling Avenue
Ottawa, ON, K1Z 8R1
Tel: (613) 725-3434, fax: 725-9826
Women with AIDS
This excellent video features testimonies by two HIV+ women about how they got infected, how
they found out, and how they coped. HIV+ women and professionals discuss how HIV affects
women differently from men.
The video, produced by AIDS Network of Edmonton Society can be borrowed from the National
AIDS Clearinghouse.
Women and HIV/AIDS
"By the year 2000, it is estimated that 15 million women will have been infected with HIV. The
global tally of people infected with HIV will be between 30 and 40 million." This bilingual fact
sheet provides other compelling statistics about the ages and AIDS infection rates of women, as
well as a point-form review of why women are more vulnerable to HIV infection. To obtain a
copy, contact:
Interagency Coalition of AIDS and Development
100 Argyle Avenue
Ottawa, ON, K2P 1B4
Tel: (613) 788-5107, fax: 788-5052
E-mail: icad@web.apc.org
Women and HIV National Workshop
Montréal, March 13 14, 1995
These workshops were planned to take stock, share information and define future care, treatment,
support interventions and research needs for a coherent national strategy on women and HIV. The
report provides concise summaries of speakers, speeches and workshops covering such issues as:
women and HIV projects; clinical care and treatment for HIV+ women; needs assessments for
women living with HIV; models for care, treatment and support for HIV+ women; HIV
counselling and testing issues for women; gender-related risk factors for HIV; mobilization and
intervention strategies; and action ideas emerging from the workshops. Bilingual copies are
available from the National AIDS Clearinghouse.
Sexual Assault and HIV/AIDS:
You are not alone and What Lesbians Need to Know about Safer Sex are two recent
publications available from the AIDS Committee of Toronto. While the language may be technical
and perhaps offensive to some, the information in these pamphlets will be understood by a variety
of women. To obtain a copy, contact:
AIDS Committee of Toronto
399 Church Street
Toronto, ON, M5B 2J6
Tel: (416) 340-2437
TTY: 340-8122, fax: 340-8224
Fighting the Tide ... Changing the Current: Creating a community-based response to women
and HIV/AIDS
This comprehensive resource manual for community workers and HIV/AIDS service providers
gives practical guidelines for setting up specific programming for the AIDS-related health
promotion of women. Other topics include community development, learner-centred education,
and support and education for women and HIV/AIDS. Outside of the Maritime provinces, the
manual costs $18 (including postage). Training sessions or workshops are also available. Contact:
Nova Scotia Women and AIDS Project
5675 Spring Garden Road, Suite 300
Halifax, NS, B3J 1H1
Tel: (902) 429-7922, fax: 422-6200
Women & Abuse, and HIV
This handy pamphlet is an excellent resource for women who are at risk of being infected with
HIV. It provides examples of physical, emotional and sexual abuse, as well as practical
information on protecting yourself during sex. Copies are available from:
AIDS Vancouver
1107 Seymour Street
Vancouver, BC, V6B 5S8
Tel: (604) 681-2122, fax: 893-2211
"Girls Night Out" A Safer Sex Workshop for Women and Manual for Peer Leaders
This manual is an excellent resource for peer leaders or anyone else who wants to develop safer
sex workshops for women. It provides information sheets to be used as handouts and overheads
on such topics as anatomy, AIDS and cleaning needles. A section, "Taking care of ourselves:
Practising safer sex," discusses putting on condoms, condom etiquette, 10 ways to tell a man he
has to wear a condom, and safer sex guidelines for lesbians. To obtain a copy, contact:
Chicago Women's AIDS Project
5249 North Kenmore
Chicago, IL 60640, USA
Tel: (312) 271-2242, fax: 271-2618
Kecia Words to live by
This is an emotional 24-minute documentary about a young Native Canadian girl and the events
that led to her becoming infected with the HIV virus. The video follows Kecia Larkin on a tour of
Native communities throughout Ontario as she delivers strong messages to young people about
their bodies and the AIDS virus. Kecia also addresses such issues as sexual abuse, alcoholism,
drug addiction, street life and growing up in a small Aboriginal community. Proceeds from the
purchase of this video go to Kecia and the National Association of Friendship Centres. Cost:
$175. Contact:
Gryphon Productions Ltd.
PO Box 93009, 5331 Headland Drive
West Vancouver, BC, V7W 3C0
Tel: (604) 921-7627, fax: 721-7626
Copies of this video are also available in Inuktitut from the National AIDS Clearinghouse.
Alberta Resources
The Alberta Council of Women's Shelters, Edmonton Women's Shelter and Public Health Services
have developed a number of resources:
- Women Facing AIDS in Alberta. If I tell you my story, can I make a difference?
Four women in Alberta who are HIV+ were interviewed to allow others to gain a better
understanding of how the virus affects women. The booklet is organized so that each woman
describes her experience of finding out she is HIV+, her initial reaction, how she has been able to
manage, and what HIV will mean to her in the future. Cost: $2.
- A poster communicating the message, "AIDS ... it's safe to talk about it," relays the
message that women can freely seek help or information without fear of retribution. Cost: $3.
- Strategies Guide is a practical document that outlines the thinking, planning and strategic
actions for a women and AIDS project aimed at women in abusive situations. It discusses how a
link was created with women's shelters, how the project was designed, the reaction of the shelter
staff, the specific strategies used, and future directions for the project. Cost: $10.
These and other resources can be purchased from:
Resource Office, Edmonton Board of Health
10216 124 Street, Suite 500
Edmonton, AB, T5N 4A3
Tel: (403) 482-9845, fax: 482-4194
Videos
The following videos are available from V Tape:
401 Richmond Road, Suite 452
Toronto, ON, M5V 3A8
Tel: (416) 351-1317, fax: 351-1509
(Special prices for screening or purchase are available for community organizations.) Copies are
also available for loan from the National AIDS Clearinghouse.
-
Taking Control is a documentary that follows the lives of five street youth and their
participation in an AIDS outreach peer program in downtown Toronto. Produced as a co-
operative effort, with the youth involved in all aspects of the production process, the video
follows them as they interact with other youth on the street, passing out condoms and providing
HIV education. This is a good educational tool for reaching youth and learning about peer
education programs.
-
My Body's My Business
This video examines the impact of the AIDS crisis on street prostitutes. Several prostitutes and
ex-prostitutes tell their stories about keeping safe on the streets with their "dates" and at home
with their mates. They discuss the various reasons men give for not using a condom and the
approaches the women use to convince them to do so. When all else fails, these streetworkers
reveal a secret how to put a condom on a guy without his knowledge a controversial practice
not agreed on by all. Although the video features workers in the sex trade, mainstream women
who are in powerless situations can learn the techniques these women have to developed to
protect themselves from being infected with the HIV virus. This is a story of women becoming
empowered to gain a voice in all aspects of their lives.
The URL for this document is: http://www.ccsd.ca/v_resor.html
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