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Roundtable: Attitudes and Risk Behaviors of Women with HIV-Positive Partners

On December 9, AWARE will hold a roundtable to share the findings of our study the attitudes and risk behaviours of women living with HIV-positive husbands or partners in Singapore.

We conducted in-depth one-to-one interviews with 60 women to explore attitudes about HIV/AIDS, safer sexual practices and concerns of these women. They found that many of the married women were monogamous and had acquired the infection from their husbands. A few women (n=8) were aware of their husbands’ infidelity, yet many accepted their extramarital sexual behaviors either because they were economically dependent on their husbands, they felt that extramarital affairs by men was a societal “norm”, or they felt powerless to change the situation.

Although they wanted to protect themselves from HIV infection, they were not able to persuade their husbands to use condoms. After being diagnosed with HIV, almost all stayed married and a smaller number (n=22) continued to engage in sexual intercourse with their husbands. At least fourteen women saw a marked decrease in sexual intimacy after their diagnosis or the diagnosis of their husbands. While some of the women were keen to use condoms after diagnosis, a significant proportion could not persuade their husbands to use condoms consistently.

The main concerns reported by the women were the high cost of medications, stigma from family members, friends and employers, and the desire to have children. Women living with HIV clearly need holistic care to help them cope with the negative impact of the illness on their physical, mental, social and sexual well being.

Speaker’s Bio:

Mee-Lian is Associate Professor of Public Health at the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, Singapore (NUS) and Director of the National Preventive Medicine Residency Program, Singapore. She teaches health promotion and behavioral change in the MBBS and MPH programs. She received her MBBS and MPH from the University of Malaya and her Doctor of Medicine from the National University of Singapore. She is a Fellow of the Academy of Medicine, Singapore and a Fellow by distinction of the Faculty of Public Health, United Kingdom.

Roundtable: Women with HIV-Positive Partners

AWARE’s next roundtable will be held on 9 December, featuring speaker Mee-Lian as she shares the results of our study on the attitudes, sexual practices and concerns of women with HIV or living with HIV-positive husbands or partners in Singapore.

In-depth interviews were conducted with 60 women between 2007 and 2012. The study found that many married women were monogamous and had acquired HIV from their husbands. While some of the women were keen to use condoms after diagnosis, a significant proportion could not persuade their husbands to use condoms consistently. After being diagnosed with HIV, almost all stayed married and a smaller number continued to engage in sexual intercourse with their husbands.

The women surveyed expressed concerns about the high cost of medications, social stigma and the desire to have children. They clearly require holistic care to help them cope with the negative impact of the illness on their well being.

HIV pic

Event Details
Date: 9 December 2013 (Monday)
Time: 7.30pm
Location: AWARE Centre
Click here to register!

About the Speaker

Mee-Lian is Associate Professor of Public Health at the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, Singapore (NUS) and Director of the National Preventive Medicine Residency Program, Singapore. She teaches health promotion and behavioral change in the MBBS and MPH programs and has done specific research on the control of sexually transmitted infections such as HIV/AIDS. She received her MBBS and MPH from the University of Malaya and her Doctor of Medicine from the National University of Singapore. She is a Fellow of the Academy of Medicine, Singapore and a Fellow by distinction of the Faculty of Public Health, United Kingdom.

 

Roundtable: Sex Trafficking in Singapore

On 15 November, this month’s roundtable brings to you a screening of the documentary, ‘Forest Brothel’, followed by a discussion on sex trafficking and sex work in Singapore with the film maker, Hani Mohamed, and Project X Programme Coordinator, Vanessa Ho.

Premiered at the ‘Women in the Community: Participative Leadership’ conference in 2012 at Singapore Management University, ‘Forest Brothel: Human Trafficking in a Borderless World’ captures the tragedy of sex slavery and human trafficking.

Project X is an advocacy group for sex workers’ rights in Singapore. The organisation believes that sex work is work, and sex workers’ rights are human rights. Project X provides social and legal support to sex workers, and seeks to end all verbal, physical, emotional, and financial violence against sex workers in Singapore.

documentary-genreEvent details:
Date: 15 November
Time: 7:00pm (don’t be late, we will start on the dot!)
Location: AWARE Centre, 5 Dover Crescent, #01-22

Click here to register.

Speakers’ bios:

Hani Mohamed was elected President of ONE (SINGAPORE) in March 2013. She has produced two films: ‘Innocence’, a short film about child trafficking and prostitution in Southeast Asia and ‘Forest Brothel’. She is an Adjunct Lecturer in Media and Mass Communications, and has taught at the Marketing Institute of Singapore, Monash University, and Murdoch University.

Vanessa Ho has been the full-time programme coordinator of Project X since 2011. She believes that if people can speak about sex, gender and sexuality in open and non-judgemental ways, society will become a safe place for everyone. In other words, Vanessa believes that Sex is the Revolution. She is also part of the organising team of SlutWalk Singapore, a movement against victim blaming and slut-shaming.

PLEASE NOTE: This is a closed-door event. Participants must register with their contact details before the event. Registration at the gate will not be accepted.

A festival where art meets activism

We can logo

This December, We Can! Singapore is breaking the silence of violence with the We Can! Arts Fest.

Violence isn’t always black and blue. Most times, it creeps into women’s lives unexpectedly – at home, at the workplace, on the street, at a party. It leaves an impact on women, men and children.

Do you know how to spot the signs?

Walk through our interactive installation on psychological abuse, stop to have coffee with a social activist, watch a play on true stories of violence from Singapore, and discover how you can make a difference.

On 8 December 2013, meet others who are using their voices to speak up against violence. Together, we can create awareness and action for a violence-free society.

Artists, activists and survivors are coming together in an exciting lineup to interrogate the different forms of violence around us that go unnoticed because of our silence.

arts

Event details:
Theme: The Silence of Violence
Date: 8 December 2013
Time: 11am – 10pm
Venue: Aliwal Arts Centre, 28 Aliwal Street

Art + film + music + plays + poetry + workshops + more!

Get your tickets ($5) now! Tickets will also be available at the door.

We’re ready to talk.

Are you ready to listen?

Click here to see the programme lineup.

Workshop Series – Gender Matters

The word “feminism” can elicit extreme reactions. Some completely identify with it, while many say: “I believe in gender equality but I am not a feminist.”

feminist1

What exactly is feminism? The definition can vary from feminist to feminist, and many misconceptions prevail.

AWARE has put together a workshop series to help women and men understand feminism better. The first part of this series, on 6 November at 7:30pm, will explore the history of the feminist movement. We will discuss how gender roles are shaped over time, the gender messages embedded in popular culture, and what feminism means today.

This thought-provoking workshop includes lectures and group exercises, and allows each participant to evaluate their own concepts of feminism and gender, and how they perceive the other sex.

Workshop 1 – History of feminism
Speaker: Dr Mandakini Arora
Date: 14 January 2014, Tuesday
Time: 7:30-9:30pm
Venue: AWARE Centre, 5 Dover Crescent, #01-22, Singapore 130005
Click here to register.

Men, particularly fathers, are strongly encouraged to participate.

Alamak! 2014 nominations are open!

shockSeen a particularly excruciating example of sexism recently? A remark, advertisement, or policy that made you gnash your teeth and clench your fists?

Nominate it for the Alamak! Award 2014!

Every year, AWARE “honours” the most annoying, you-have-got-to-be-kidding-me instance of sexism in Singapore over the previous year. Sadly, although we are well into the 21st century, there are still remarks, commercials and policies that perpetuate gender stereotypes and sexist attitudes.

It’s never too early to collect nominations, so submit your nominee through our online form, and we’ll keep it in the running for Alamak! 2014.

Nominations are submitted by the public, shortlisted by AWARE, and YOU can then vote for the most Alamak! moment of the year.

Click here to submit your nomination!

 

Roundtable: Internet and the women’s movement

The next AWARE Roundtable is on Wednesday, 23 October, on how internet technologies have affected the women’s movement in Singapore.

The identities of women’s movements across the globe are shaped by the institutional contexts they are embedded in. Singapore is a compelling case study because the different phases of the women’s movement reflect sharp influences of a rapidly changing political economy. The significance of the women’s movement lies not only in its accomplishments, but also in how it negotiates a hostile terrain moulded by socio-cultural constraints and the state.

The arrival of the Internet has presented new opportunities for challengers of the state. Besides creating new modalities of collective action and facilitating traditional ones, blogs, electronic forums, and social networking sites have given collective action an extra boost by connecting like-minded individuals at unprecedented speed. Across the globe, women are responding to new opportunities for informal resistance by using digital technologies to form groups.

This discussion examines how (and if) the Internet has opened up spaces of contestation for women and for which segments of the population. We will also talk about the ways in which Internet technologies are used by emerging groups and the constraints posed by these technologies.

feminist_on_the_internet

 

Event Details

Date: Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Time: 7:30pm
Location: AWARE Centre

Click here to register.

 

About the Speaker:

Carol Soon’s work has been published in several peer-reviewed journals and her paper on blogging and collective action was selected as one of the best papers at the recent Conference for E-Democracy and Open Government. Her research interests include digital engagement, online communities, and how individuals and organisations use digital technologies to engender change.

Carol has taught courses at the Department of Communications and New Media, and the University Scholars Programme in NUS, and received several awards for her teaching. In 2012, Carol was Visiting Research Fellow at the Asia Research Centre, Murdoch University, with support from the Australian Endeavour Award.

‘Come Out, Come Home’ in Singapore

AWARE welcomes the Come Out, Come Home movement (COuCH) launched by queer rights group Sayoni.

COuCH seeks to encourage and support LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) persons in Singapore to come out and to feel comfortable about their sexuality.

AWARE supports this effort because we respect the right of every individual to live the life they want. This includes the right to live freely and happily as an LGBTQ person. Sexual orientation is just one facet of an individual, no different from the many other facets such as gender, ethnicity, and religious belief.

As a nation, Singapore does not judge or discriminate against anyone because of their gender, ethnicity, or religion. Similarly, we should not judge or discriminate against anyone because of their sexual orientation.

While social norms are changing and there is growing acceptance of LGBTQ persons, it continues to be difficult for many to be open about their sexuality. This is not healthy. Studies show that self-acceptance and disclosure contribute positively to a person’s mental and emotional wellbeing.

The COuCH movement, launched on 3 August, will culminate on 11 October  – International Coming Out Day.

COuCH Campaign

During this period, LGBTQ persons are encouraged to sign a pledge to come out before or on International Coming Out Day, and to share on the COuCH website their experience of coming out to their family, friends, or colleagues.

Allies – those who accept, support, and love their LGBTQ relatives, friends and colleagues – are also encouraged to make their stand known.

Roundtable: Constructions of Women in Sex Ed

AWARE’s next roundtable is coming up on 19 September! The theme this month is ‘Harmful Constructions of Young Women in Sex Education’.

Sex education programmes that focus on promoting abstinence rather than providing accurate information on sexual health not only fail to adequately equip teens with accurate information, but also spread extremely harmful constructions of young women.

Women are often depicted as having no sexual agency, and merely as potential victims of sexuality. In these ‘abstinence-only-until-marriage’ education programmes, women are almost exclusive heterosexual, and ideally “pure”.

Such depictions leave women dangerously unprepared to understand and navigate their sexuality and relationships in a healthy and empowered manner.

This roundtable will examine these images of the “pure” young woman in sex education curricula, and discuss statistics that demonstrate the dangerous effects of such constructions. We will suggest alternative approaches to sex education that expand the space for women’s sexuality and sexual agency.

sex-ed

 

Event details:

Date: 19 September, Thursday
Time: 7:30 pm
Venue: AWARE Centre, 5 Dover Crescent, #01-22, Singapore 130005

Click here to register!

 

Speaker’s Bio:

Cate Smith is in the final stages of completing her PhD in Education from Monash University in Australia. She began her graduate studies in Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, and switched to Education when she became aware of a greater need for work in educating teens about sex and sexuality.

For her graduate thesis, Cate designed a qualitative study that examined, among other things, the adverse effects of abstinence-only curricula on America’s teens. She has delivered several papers on sex education at conferences in Australia and Singapore, and is currently working on publications on feminist concerns about sex education and young women’s sexual agency.