What Works for Women and Girls

more likely to report having used a condom. Boys living in communities with higheremployment and wage rates were 50% more likely to report having used a condom.Overall, “for most groups, the number of hours spent hanging out is positively associatedwith having had sex in the last year and negatively associated with condom use”(Kaufman et al., 2002: 16). (Gray III) (employment, youth, sex behavior, condoms, SouthAfrica)Promising Strategies:2. Access to treatment can result in a rapid increase in employment and income for peopleliving with HIV.In India, access to HAART resulted in a rapid increase in employment and income for1,319 HIV-positive patients (including those not eligible for HAART) followed between2005 and 2007. Socioeconomic data were collected but data were not disaggregatedby sex. A total of 452 patients initiated treatment and 867 received care and support.At six months after initiation of treatment, patients’ labor force participation rose 26%and weekly hours worked rose 14.5%. Asymptomatic patients receiving counseling andsupport also experienced significant but smaller increases in employment. At twelvemonths after treatment initiation, employment increases remained large and significant(Thirumurthy et al., 2008). (Abstract) (treatment, employment, India)3. Engagement of trained women living with HIV can positively impact workplace HIV policies.[See also 11F. Reducing Stigma and Discrimination]Training of 40 women and 80 men living with HIV in 2006 to 2007 who then wereinvolved in consultations for developing workplace policies resulted in commitmentsby several employers’ organizations and five central trade unions in India that includedprinciples of non-discrimination and continued employment of people living with HIV.A message that made an impact was: “If you take away my job, you will kill us fasterthan the virus” (Mohd, 2008). (Abstract) (training programs, employment, discrimination,India)Gaps in Programming—Promoting Women’s Employment, Income and LivelihoodOpportunities1. Expansion and scaling up of interventions promoting economic opportunities forwomen are needed to increase their ability to refuse unsafe sex.WHAT WORKS FOR WOMEN AND GIRLS321