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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal – Vol. 8, No. 10

Publication Date: October 25, 2021

DOI:10.14738/assrj.810.10953. Hem-Lee-Forsyth, S., & Thomas, R. (2021). Caribbean Faith-Based Organisations: Friend or Foe in the fight against the feminisation

of HIV and AIDS in the Anglophone Caribbean. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 8(10). 9-16.

Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom

Caribbean Faith-Based Organisations: Friend or Foe in the fight

against the feminisation of HIV and AIDS in the Anglophone

Caribbean

Shivaughn Hem-Lee-Forsyth, PhD, MPH

Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine

St. George's University, Grenada

Renee Thomas, MPH

Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine

St. George's University, Grenada

ABSTRACT

The feminisation of HIV and AIDS has become a worldwide phenomenon, and the

Caribbean region has not been fortunate enough to be excluded. Caribbean females

had 3-4 times higher infection rates than males up to a decade ago. Studies that

focus on the contributing psychosocial factors to HIV risk in the Caribbean are

limited. This narrative review showcases pivotal work which addresses the

reciprocally connected responsibilities of patriarchy and religious practices and

how they feed into the desolate reality of Anglophone Caribbean women. The

relationship between these cultural issues in the Caribbean, using an

anthropological lens, sets a platform for an investigation into HIV and AIDS. This

paper seeks to encourage further research centred on the religious elements, which

influence heterosexual relationships, and how these relationships are predisposed

to potential HIV and AIDS risk. The ultimate goal of this study is to provide English- speaking Caribbean faith-based organisations, public health officials and

policymakers a public stage to consider further policy implications for the

staggering and disproportionate rates of HIV and AIDS between women and men.

Keywords: Anglophone Caribbean women, faith-based organisations, patriarchy,

feminisation of HIV and AIDS, heterosexual relationships

INTRODUCTION

HIV and AIDS is an ongoing public health concern in the Caribbean community, with the second- highest HIV prevalence after Sub-Saharan Africa (Avert, 2020). Globally, there are almost equal

infection rates among women and men. In Caribbean nation-states, like other countries,

however, more women, as opposed to men, are particularly vulnerable to this epidemic: women

account for approximately 53% of all reported HIV cases (UNAIDS, 2020). Currently, women,

including transgender women, contract HIV disproportionally compared to the rates of men,

and the gap continues to increase among certain groups (Avert, 2020). For example, in Trinidad

and Tobago, HIV and AIDS rates are five times higher for girls than boys ages 15-19 (Pan

American Health Organization (2011). These trends have initiated united cooperation between

local and regional health and gender agencies to reverse the spread of this feminised disease

within Caribbean territories.

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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal (ASSRJ) Vol. 8, Issue 10, October-2021

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METHODOLOGY

A comprehensive narrative review was conducted to identify research articles that explored

the Feminization of the HIV and AIDS epidemic and the contributing role of Faith-Based

Organisations in dealing with this infectious disease challenge in the Caribbean. The literature

search also included current rates and trends of disease transmission according to gender

within the Caribbean region. For this study, women were defined as cisgender and did not

include women in the transgender community. This review included the analysis of peer- reviewed articles and official reports from international and regional public health agencies.

Library databases were the primary tool used for the literature search. The World Health

Organization, The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, The Pan American Health

Organization and The United Nations Women Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment

of Women websites were also used to access fact sheets and other pertinent data on HIV and

AIDS.

Collection of the literature was done using the following search terms: “Faith-Based

Organisations and HIV and AIDS,” “HIV and AIDS in the Caribbean,” “Women and HIV and AIDS,”

and “Religion and HIV and AIDS.” All articles were evaluated for their relevance and

applicability to the themes that were to be explored. A total of twenty-three (23) data sources

were used for this literature review. Most of the articles selected were published within the last

twenty years. An exception was made to include an article outside the specified period since

the covered information is still relevant today. The findings were categorised into four different

themes, which underscored the importance of addressing the Feminization of HIV and AIDS in

the Caribbean and the role of religious organisations in ameliorating the situation.

WOMEN AND HIV RISK

Despite the continued recognition of women's alarming HIV and AIDS case numbers, with their

concomitant high-risk sexual practices, the perceived HIV risk can be best described as low to

moderate. This low perception of women's HIV risk can be attributed to multiple determinants,

including generational knowledge, traditional practices, and misconceptions regarding safe sex

behaviours (Charlery, 2005). Primarily, these cultural beliefs are responsible for driving unsafe

sexual behaviours, which threaten many women's physical and mental health. Because of this

disconcerting truth, attending to HIV and AIDS within the Caribbean is vital by targeting female

groups with the worst health outcomes. This public health matter will require a multi-sectoral

approach to reduce the incidence of HIV among Caribbean women. The religious community

plays a prominent role in Caribbean society and can be a chief ally in pursuing greater HIV

awareness and well-being among the female fellowship.

Faith-based values and beliefs are at the heart of Caribbean culture, and they play an integral

role in the ways people relate one to the other. Religious dogma also influences the attitudes

and behaviours which govern these human interactions. Sometimes, these religious doctrines

are viewed as a purposive extension and perpetuation of patriarchy: a means of advocating and

maintaining social control. Soares (2005, p. 67) elucidates, "This ideology of male dominance,

which underlies society's oppression of and discrimination against women, is often encouraged

by social and cultural institutions such as the church." Socio-cultural perspectives as they relate

to religious cosmology are therefore linked to gender inequity.