ABSTRACT
Women with HIV infection are clearly living with the consequences, it can be cogently argued that they are not solely responsible for their choices. Keeping on the front burner this issue of choices and consequences for women, this chapter considers HIV and vulnerability in women, the importance of education for girls and young women, the unequal burden of care, and the potential impact of HIV on the status of women in developing countries. In developing countries, poverty further interacts with gender imbalances to prevent women from protecting themselves from HIV. Investing in women through improved education is not simply a desirable end in itself, it is a key not only to reduced HIV transmission but also to higher productivity and growth for developing country economies in the long term. Reid, of UNDP's HIV and Development Programme, argues that because so many facets of the HIV epidemic are gender speficif experience and knowledge must be made accessible so it can shape and reshape theory and practice.
