Many studies with regards to women in the Caribbean have largely focused on women and family life and few have examined female sexuality beyond its reproductive capacity. In this paper, I intend to show that the gendered nature of the AIDS pandemic has forced researchers and policy-makers to “reconfigure social thought and reality,” challenging traditional means of thinking and understanding illness, our bodies, and our intimate relationships (Long and Messersmith, 1995, p.157).
Although women in the Caribbean continue to pursue higher education, enter managerial positions and professions and so appear to be “doing well,” gender inequities persist that undermine women’s progress. This is best illustrated by the many acts of violence committed against women and girls. Added to this is the fact that the gap between rates of HIV/AIDS infection between men and women in the Caribbean is narrowing and in some countries, the rate of new HIV infection is greatest among women (PAHO, n.d.). Situating this analysis within a human rights approach, I will show not only the need to challenge asymmetrical gender relations but also the obligation of the state and other non-state actors to ensure women’s human rights.