In 2003, 170,679 women were given a diagnosis of HIV/AIDS, representing one-fifth of the total diagnoses. HIV/AIDS pose a growing and persistent health threat to women in the United States, especially among young women and women of color. According to CDC, from 1999 through 2003, the annual number of estimated HIV/AIDS diagnoses increased 15 percent among women, compared with 1 percent increase among men. Barriers to prevention and risk factors include young age, lack of recognition of partners’ risk, sexual inequality in relationships with men, biologic vulnerability, substance abuse and other socioeconomic problems such as poverty.

Minority Women

African American and Hispanic women together represented about 25 percent of all US women, however they account for 83 percent of HIV/AIDS diagnoses reported. The rate of HIV/AIDS diagnoses for African American women was approximately 25 times the rate for white women and 4 times the rate for Hispanic women. Asian American/Pacific Islander and American Indian/Alaska Native women comprised 1 percent of HIV/AIDS cases reported. Data shows that heterosexual contact and injection drug use are the primary modes of exposures to HIV/AIDS among women across racial/ethnic groups.