Over the years the Journal of HIV/AIDS & Social Services has been at the forefront in discussing the cardinal role which gender plays in HIV/AIDS. Once HIV was a little known virus among young men who have sex with men, yet gender has played a formidable role in defining populations at risk, and in driving outreach efforts in primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention. In 2017, is gender still an important player in the fight against HIV/AIDS and in service delivery, domestically and across the globe? Differing from sex, the term gender in the social sciences refers to a social construct rather than a biological reality. Gender is context-dependent and may include sex, sex-based social structures, social roles, gender roles, and gender identity (World Health Organization, Citation2017). Gender in HIV/AIDS is rarely a single player but almost invariantly acts in accord with other social constructs and realities including sexual orientation, ethnicity/race, class structures, degree of marginalization, education, and access to systems of care (Wyatt et al., Citation2013). From transgender populations to their cis-gender cohorts, historically gender has never been so frequently on the stage for academic research and discussion as this year, especially in its relationship to illness and risk factors in HIV and health care (Land, Citation2016). Involved in issues of power and prejudice, race and racism, gender often points to the most vulnerable, and the highest risk populations for health risks in HIV (Gant & Gant, Citation2008; Harris, Gant, Pitter, & Brodie, Citation2009). Frequently written out of the script, are those less heard without access to care (Gant & Welch, Citation2005; Mason, Citation2010). Gender issues often pair with age and race factors in the vulnerability equation for youth and the elderly, for HIV recipients and their caregivers alike, both locally and globally in service provision from prevention through crisis intervention (Land & Levine, Citation2016; Stokes & Gant, Citation2002). Now more than ever, AIDS is a gendered disease. Too often, those most vulnerable to HIV/AIDS are also those who are young, poor, or minorities of color exposed to violence, whether they be communities and social structures affected by violence (Voisin, Neilands, & Hunnicutt, Citation2011), violence-adhering group norms (Voisin & Neilands, Citation2010a; Citation2010b), or interpersonal violence.
This issue reflects the multifaceted role which gender plays in HIV/AIDS. In Singapore, Ee and Tuomola examine HIV disclosure themes of married men. In India, low levels of condom use among sex workers in regular partner relationships is analyzed by Isac and colleagues, while Srivastava and colleagues report on mental health and social support resources among HIV-infected women in rural Southern India. In their article, Ortiz-Sánchez and colleagues analyze how sexual-health knowledge and gay and HIV-related stigma affect gay and bisexual men in Puerto Rico, confirming the role of gender and sexual-orientation in accordance with a low education level. Across the world, van Cranenburgh and colleagues write on gender and gender-based violence in HIV prevention in Mozambique. And among African-American college women, Rountree and colleagues elucidate the role of friendship systems in mobilizing HIV prevention and safe sex.
Much has changed since HIV/AIDS dawned on the health crisis horizon, but what has not changed is that HIV/AIDS remains a disease which impacts and interacts with biological, psychological, and social factors, of which gender is a key player. All these are important interacting dimensions requiring our knowledge of HIV/AIDS and social services.
Editor’s note
As this is my last issue as Senior Editor of the Journal of HIV/AIDS & Social Services I would like to thank my coeditors, Larry Gant, Dexter Voisin, and Sally Mason, for their outstanding support of the journal under my direction. I would also like to thank Taylor and Francis for their assistance and dedication in publication of the journal over the last decade and a half. I am confident that we will continue to provide readers with excellence in academic publications related to HIV/AIDS in the field of social services under the new leadership of Dr. Larry Gant, who will operate as Senior Editor following my leave. Many thanks to you all.
References
- Gant, L. M., & Gant, Z. C. (2008). Impact of poverty, sex ratios, and marital status on HIV infection rates among African-American women in Mississippi. Journal of Public Management & Social Policy, 14(2), 7–19.
- Gant, L. M., & Welch, L. A. (2005). Voices less heard: HIV-positive African American women, medication adherence, and self-care. Journal of HIV/AIDS & Social Services, 3(2), 67–91.
- Harris, K. A., Gant, L. M., Pitter, R., & Brodie, D. (2009). Associations between HIV risk, unmitigated communion, and relationship power in African-American women. Journal of HIV/AIDS & Social Services, 8(4), 331–351.
- Land, H. M. (2016). Diverse people affected by HIV/AIDS. In E. M. P. Schott & E. L. Weiss (Eds.), Transformative Social Work Practice, (pp. 25–40). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
- Land, H. M., & Levine, B. (2016). HIV/AIDS caregiving. In L. D. Burgio, J. E. Gaugler & M. M. Hilgeman (Eds.), The Spectrum of Family Caregiving for Adults and Elders with Chronic Illness (pp. 118–141). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
- Mason, S. (2010). Women and HIV in the U.S.: From invisible to self-determined. In C. C. Poindexter (Ed.), Handbook of HIV and Social Work: Principles, practice, and populations (pp. 199–210). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
- Stokes, C. E., & Gant, L. M. (2002). Turning the tables on the HIV/AIDS epidemic: Hip hop as a tool for reaching African-American adolescent girls. African-American Research Perspectives, 8(2), 70–81.
- Voisin, D. R., Neilands, T. B., & Hunnicutt, S. (2011). Mechanisms linking violence exposure and school engagement among African American adolescents: Examining the roles of psychological problem behaviors and gender. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 81(1), 61–71.
- Voisin, D. R., & Neilands, T. B. (2010a). Community violence and health risk factors among adolescents on Chicago’s Southside: Does gender matter? Journal of Adolescent Health, 46(6), 600–602.
- Voisin, D. R., & Neilands, T. B. (2010b). Low school engagement and sexual behaviors among African American youth: Examining the influences of gender, peer norms, and gang involvement. Children and Youth Services Review, 32(1), 51–57.
- World Health Organization (2017, Jan 30). What do we mean by “sex” and “gender”? Retrieved from TK [26 November 2015].
- Wyatt, G. E., Gómez, C. A., Hamilton, A. B., Valencia-Garcia, D., Gant, L. M., & Graham, C. E. (2013). The intersection of gender and ethnicity in HIV risk, interventions, and prevention: New frontiers for psychology. American Psychologist, 68(4), 247–260.