It is a common misconception that AIDS is an epidemic only in poor countries, or prevalant only among homosexual men or drug users. As the statistics below indicate, women are increasingly being affected by HIV/AIDS every year.

In general women are more suceptible to AIDS than men due to biology and social attitudes.


With the changing faces of AIDS, more people are susceptible to the disease.
53% of new infections among women in Canada is attributed to HETEROSEXUAL contact.

There is a relatively high porportion of women who are still infected through using intravenous drugs, but the rates of women being infected through heterosexual contact is increasing.

The epidemic among women is concern because most people are unaware that they are affected, and the potential for transmission to their infants.
The implications of the continued rates affects prevention and care programs. Efforts to reduce the rates need to be focused on promoting safer sexual behaviors and reducing substance abuse: two main factors putting women at increased risk.
Table 1. Proportion (%) of positive HIV tests among adult females by exposure category and year of test, Canada, 1985-2002
Year Exposure category (%)
Heterosexual contact* IDU** Blood and blood products
1985-97 46.2 40.0 8.1
1998 52.8 38.9 3.6
1999 47.3 48.5 1.2
2000 54.6 39.9 1.7
2001 62.5 32.7 1.4
2002 58.3 37.2 1.5
TOTAL 52.6 42.1 6.0

*Heterosexual category includes three subcategories: sexual contact with a person at risk, origin from a country where HIV is endemic and sex with the opposite gender as the only identified risk.
**IDU: Injecting drug users(Health Canada,2004)