WIRED: The Dangers of Excluding Women From HIV Prevention Drug Tests
“…The underrepresentation of women in all kinds of medical research — from heart disease to sexual dysfunction — is a longstanding concern among women’s health activists. With HIV, inequity not only leaves women vulnerable to a life-altering disease, but it also thwarts efforts to stop its spread. … Gender disparity in HIV treatment and research dates back to the earliest days of the epidemic, when it was viewed almost exclusively as a disease of young, white, gay men. … Diseases associated with AIDS in women were different — which meant they had more difficulty getting diagnosed and accessing housing aid, disability payments, and other social services. … [S]o far, PrEP studies have a mixed track record for including women…” (Marill, 6/10).