Beyond Knowledge and Agency: HIV Risk for Women of Color in HIV-Dense Neighborhoods

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) poses a formidable risk to the health of women, who made up almost 20% of new HIV infections in 2014 in the U.S. (the most recent year for which data are available). Women represent 25% of those infected with HIV. Sixty-two percent of infected women are African American; Latina and White women each represent 17% of cases in women. The CDC reports that heterosexual transmission accounts for 87% of HIV cases in women. However, it is not clear why some women in HIV-dense neighborhoods become infected, and others do not.