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Wilbraham native to speak on taking action against HIV/AIDS in Africa |
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Professor Linda Fuller
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By Laura Christiansen
Staff Intern
SPRINGFIELD " Author and professor Linda K. Fuller of Wilbraham has dedicated several years of her life to communicating the struggles in Africa with the world and to taking action.
The World Affairs Council of Western Massachusetts will host Fuller on April 15 at noon. Her presentation will be in the Community Room at 1350 Main St. in downtown Springfield.
The topic of Fuller s lecture will be the same as the topic of her book, African Women s Unique Vulnerabilities to HIV/AIDS: Communication Perspectives and Promises.
Fuller will focus on the healthcare/biomedical, socio-cultural, economic, legal/political and educational aspects faced by girls and women all over Africa.
It s informative, really. What I m doing is offering some hope and suggestions. I am painting an extremely grim picture [of daily life in Africa]. I really look at the role of women and, of course, I am looking at the health situation in Africa, Fuller said.
According to Fuller, women in Africa are often the targets of physical and sexual abuse. Even young girls are forced into sex and are often physically damaged. The physical damages cause them to be extremely vulnerable to illness, disease and infection.
Unlike in the United States, women in Africa are not offered any form of government Social Security.
[The socio-cultural aspect] is the notion that, for a woman in Africa, her social security is having children. [She would] try to have as many children as she possibly can because that s who s going to take care of her [later], Fuller said.
Children don t always get the chance to help take care of their parents, however.
Really what I am so concerned about is people of the most productive ages, 18 to 35. They almost don t even exist. Most of them have been the targets of HIV/AIDS. Now we get another syndrome where we get all these orphans and skip-generation parenting. The grandparents are raising the children, Fuller said.
In the USA we are able to offer retroviral medications to delay the death process [of HIV/AIDS]. In Africa, if they re lucky, people make a dollar a week. They can t afford [the necessary medications], Fuller said.
Education is another great struggle for women in Africa. Since many don t make enough to even cover the cost of a uniform, they resort to other means of funds.
The most common way for women to pay for school is through sugar daddies who are more likely to spread HIV to those young women, Fuller said.
According to Fuller, young girls in need of money for school often turn to sugar daddies. These girls sell their bodies for money, hence another strong vulnerability to contracting HIV/AIDS.
As a result of a lack of education, the majority of women in Africa are illiterate.
I also have been working on a book with no words. It is a nonverbal book. I worked with a local folklorist and a local artist and we re putting together picture stories about AIDS, Fuller said.
Fuller also aims to teach people a sensitivity when it comes to interacting with people living with AIDS.
I try to change and talk about language; the difference between saying that someone is an AIDS victim and what we [should] say is a Person Living With AIDS, Fuller said.
In creating this sensitivity, Fuller hopes to put the idea in society that it is all right to be friends with a person living with AIDS; they won t hurt anything.
Fuller is not only concerned with the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa but in the United States as well.
[I also want to talk about] taboos and [stereotypes] like if you have sex with a virgin that you re going to be cleared of AIDS, Fuller said.
Fuller hopes to inform her audience that the war against AIDS and abuse of women in Africa is very real and that something has to be done.
There is a lot that is happening and a lot that can happen. Step one is understanding what the issues are. Step two is going out there and actually doing something about them. I hope that [my audience] will be enlightened and encouraged to take some action, Fuller said.
The presentation costs $8 without lunch and $15 with lunch.
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