Single Ladies Self-Care: Protect Your Health with PrEP Because ‘Your Body Needs You’
Single ladies: how often do you inquire about the sexual health status of your romantic interest before you decide to take the relationship further? If you want to protect your health, you have to be know much more about the other person than their favorite food or similar interests.
Believe it or not, HIV is more common than you realize. And the truth is a lot of people aren’t going to tell you their status. Some have HIV but don’t even know it. If you are single and sexually active, you need to make some additions to your self-care routine, and that begins with PrEP.
Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) has been a gamechanger in our fight to end the HIV epidemic. It’s a daily pill for HIV-negative people. It protects you in case you are exposed to HIV in the future.
PrEP has helped to bring down new HIV infections and empower people to take control of their sexual health. But as a new health awareness video sponsored by Planned Parenthood of Greater New York highlights, too few women are choosing PrEP – especially women of color.
PrEP For Women Too, part of the Your Body Needs You initiative with funding support from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, educates and encourages women of color to take their health into their own hands. The powerful new video features real testimonials from New York women who take PrEP once a day to manage their health, protect their bodies, and give them peace of mind.
Health care inequities in Black and Latinx communities caused by systemic racism increase a woman’s vulnerability to HIV, along with other risk factors including poverty, housing instability, and emotional, physical, and sexual abuse. HIV-related stigma also acts as a barrier to preventative care.
“PrEP gives our mothers, sisters, and daughters the freedom to determine their health outcomes and future in a way that is safe, affordable, and manageable,” says Kim Sanders, Vice President of Education and Training at Planned Parenthood of Greater New York. “PrEP For Women Too aims to break the harmful biases that, for too long, have ignored the needs of Black and Latinx women and people of color who are at greater risk of exposure to HIV.”
The informative video shares the statistics of HIV and PrEP in the New York area, as well as the importance of reducing the disproportionate burden of HIV among Black and Latina women.
While it does not provide protection from other STIs, PrEP is a pill that can reduce the risk of acquiring HIV through sex by more than 90% if taken daily. Additional protection measures will help avoid the spread of other STIs and give both partners extra protection against HIV.
Now more than ever, women must have access to preventative care to maintain overall health and wellness. Talk to your healthcare provider about PrEP to get the tools and knowledge you need to live a long, happy, empowered life. Remember: your body needs you.
Planned Parenthood of Greater New York (PPGNY) is thrilled to debut PrEP For Women Too, a new HIV/AIDS prevention video that reminds Black and Latinx women that reduces the risk of HIV through sex by more than 90%. To learn more, visit the ‘Your Body Needs You’ website here.
PrEP For Women Too
