ABSTRACT
HIV and AIDS are not perceived as significant problems by most women in the United Kingdom (Richardson, 1987; O'Sullivan and Thomson, 1992). Official figures underestimate the real total, but relatively few appear to have been infected with the HIV virus so far and even fewer have developed AIDS. By January 1993 2,370 British women had been identified as HIV-positive compared with 16,640 men, and 466 had been reported as having AIDS compared with 6,463 men (Communicable Disease Report, 1993). HIV and AIDS have remained low on the feminist list of priorities and the specific needs of women have received relatively little attention in the planning of preventive and treatment services.
