The Invisible Cure
The following is part of the 16 Days HIV/AIDS Book Club. Please feel free to join in the discussion about this book and please refer to our 16 Days of Activism on Gender Violence Toolkit for more information and tips on how to get active.
The Invisible Cure by Helen Epstein
Some countries in Africa report that approximately one-third of their adult populations are infected with HIV. Epstein wondered how such a state of affairs came about. Seeking answers, she contracted with a biotechnical company to go to Africa and work toward discovering an AIDS vaccine. What she subsequently learned exploded some preconceived and widely shared notions about AIDS, about how African culture all but ensures its spread, and about what might be a deceptively simple answer to the complex question of how to stem that spread.
- How does violence against women and violence against children impact the HIV/AIDS pandemic? Why do you think VAW-VAC is still so common? Do you think VAW-VAC fuels HIV/AIDS or vice versa?
- How might poverty exacerbate violence against women and violence against children? Is the relationship between poverty and VAW-VAC similar to the relationship between poverty and what Epstein calls “diseases of inequality,” such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria?
- The book explores the role of concurrent sexual relationships in spreading HIV/AIDS (particularly in chapter 3). Are there links between concurrent relationships and violence against women? Do you think concurrent relationships (or affairs) increase the risk of violence in any of the relationships?
- On page 164, Epstein discusses improved attitudes about rape in Uganda. What do you think were the key factors in this change? Should this be replicated elsewhere? How can deeply engrained gender norms be changed to reduce the impact of VAW-VAC and the feminization of HIV/AIDS?
- Discuss the role of sex as part of the economy in sub-Saharan Africa. How does transactional sex as described in the book lead to tolerance of violence against women?
- Epstein discusses the difference between programs that focus on “high risk” groups (like prostitutes or truck drivers) and “high risk” behaviors among the general population (like transactional sex, alcohol use or violence against women). Do you think that stigma and discrimination are important considerations of the groups programs choose to work with? How do you think the concept of “high risk” impacts the spread of HIV/AIDS?