ABSTRACT
Gender issues, overtly or covertly, affect much of our existence. A gender focus is often a euphemism for exploring the female point of view although the purist may argue that this very focus may divert attention from male views and provide a skewed vision of the world. So be it, but in the field of HIV and AIDS the dramatic male focus needs redressing. This would be true even if rates of infection were not equal, even if it was only gay men who were infected. The 'even if's', however, are not accurate, and the rationale for a female-focused analysis may need some justification. There are a number of factors which can be summoned up to justify such a focus. One is to redress the balance but, although this is a tempting justification, it is possibly shortsighted. The argument that the epidemic may affect the female population differently may hold some persuasion, but also has some dangers. If the epidemic affects women differently, there should be a level of analysis where the nature of such differences are understood. Another persuasive argument must come from gender approaches which may hold out some hope of providing complementary analyses and understanding, which may, in turn, help broaden the scope and provide innovative and useful approaches to HIV. This could apply to women primarily but not exclusively.
