The Canadian Webinar Series on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights would like to invite you to ‘Save the Date’ for the second of a multi-phase series of webinars focused on key aspects regarding the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women living with HIV in Canada:
Supporting Safe HIV Disclosure:
Canadian Webinar Series on Implementing the WHO Consolidated Guideline on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights of Women Living with HIV
You are warmly invited to join this webinar on Supporting Safe HIV Disclosure, (in English) Thursday, November 16th, 2017: 9:00-10:30AM PST, 12:00 -1: 30 EST, and 6:00 -7:30PM in Geneva.
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WHO Consolidated Guideline Executive summary
Link to the webinar on the consolidated guideline
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The World Health Organization consolidated guideline on the sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) of women living with HIV is grounded in and advocates for a strengthened, comprehensive, woman-centred approach to SRHR. The guideline outlines evidence-based recommendations and good practice statements for key operational and service delivery issues that need to be addressed in order to uphold human rights and promote gender equality. Unique to the development of this guideline, a global community survey was conducted on the SRHR priorities of women living with HIV. It highlighted challenges experienced by women living with HIV who fear or experience violence to safely disclose their HIV status.
In Canada, many women living with HIV report experiencing, and/or fear experiencing violence and stigma, among other challenges, when disclosing their HIV status to family, friends, service providers, and/or sexual partners; particularly for those who experience multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination. In many cases, disclosure may not be safe or feasible. In Canada, where HIV non-disclosure is criminalized, women living with HIV must navigate additional structural challenges to disclosure.
In response to the need for better guidance on how to ensure the safety of women living with HIV within communities, as well as service and care provision, this webinar highlights current strategies, challenges, and opportunities to support safe HIV disclosure for women and girls living with HIV. The webinar brings together perspectives from women living with HIV, front-line community workers, researchers, clinicians, and policy makers who will share key considerations and highlight research and service gaps from the African, Caribbean, Black community, the Indigenous community, and the importance of integrating principles of the Meaningful Involvement of Women Living with HIV (MIWA) when designing interventions and recognizing women’s resilience.
Webinar Objectives
The overall goal of the webinar series is to support implementation of the WHO consolidated guideline on the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women living with HIV.
Specific objectives include to:
- Provide an overview of current research about HIV disclosurein the Canadian context using data from the Canadian HIV Women’s Sexual and Reproductive Health Cohort Study (CHIWOS);
- Introduce a toolkit developed by women living with HIV and stakeholders for health and social service providers to support safer HIV disclosure;
- Gain insightsfrom women living with HIV to highlight gaps in research and priority areas for further attention;
- Develop an action plan on to support the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women living with HIV in the Canadian context, including actions to support safe HIV disclosure.
Registration:
Please follow the link to register for the webinar
Webinar ID: 808-505-915
Panelists/ Speakers
Kerrigan Johnson: Kerrigan is currently is the Executive Director of 2 Spirited People of the 1st Nations, who also works as a Research Assistant for Women’s College Research Initiative.
Mona Loutfy: Dr. Mona Loutfy is a Full Professor, Infectious Diseases Specialist and Clinician Scientist at Women’s College Hospital and the University of Toronto. She launched the Women and HIV Research Program at the Women’s College Research Institute in 2006 to carry out social justice research related to women, reproductive health, stigma, quality of care and HIV and HCV. She works from a community-based research model involving the people that her research will affect at all stages.
Manjulaa Narasimhan: Manjulaa coordinates WHO’s work on strengthening linkages between sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and HIV interventions – at advocacy, policy, programmatic and research levels. This includes the development of WHO global guidance and tools on the SRHR for women living with HIV as well as the SRHR of adolescent girls and young women.
Angela Kaida: Angela is an epidemiologist and Canada Research Chair at Simon Fraser University whose global research program centers on a rights-based, evidence-informed, and community-driven approach to sexual and reproductive health among women and youth affected by HIV.
Valerie Nicholson: A Spirited Indigenous Warrior Woman: Valerie became active in HIV/AIDS in 2008, 2 years after her HIV diagnosis, and was the first Indigenous women to Chair the Board Of Positive Living BC. She is currently the Indigenous Peer Navigator for Positive Living, Co-Chair of Red Road HIV/AIDS Network, Board Member of AIDS Vancouver, a member of Canadian Aboriginal Aids Network, CTN’S Prevention and Vulnerable Populations Working Group.
Jasmine Cotnam: Jasmine currently holds two part time research coordinator positions at Women’s College Hospital and works part time with the Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network where she holds one of the two APHA Liaison positions. In addition to her full and part time positions Jasmine has been contracted as a Peer Research Assistant with the Ontario HIV Treatment Network on various studies, Women’s College Hospital on the CHIWOS Study, and McMaster University on the WATCH Study.
Marvelous Muchenje: Marvelous Muchenje is currently the Community Health Coordinator at Women’s Health in Women’s Hands, Community Health Centre in Toronto. Diagnosed with HIV in 1995, she continues to participate passionately in the HIV movement advocating for the meaningful involvement of women living with HIV in issues that have an impact on their wellbeing.
Sandra Godoy: Sandra’s work at Women’s Health in Women’s Hands involves training and proving support to AIDS Service Organizations in Ontario to integrate The HIV-positive Sero-Status Disclosure Support Model. She has a Masters of Social Work and has experience in sexual health promotion, STI, family planning and mental health counseling. She has experience in developing programs for local and international youth focusing on leadership, sexuality and sexual reproductive health rights, and gender equity.