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PROTECT YOUR FAMILY PROTECT YOURSELF <•> FOR WOMEN <•> The Latino Families HIV/AIDS Prevention Project 0 Conducted By: The National Council ofLa Raza Funded By: TheU.S. DepartmentofHealthand HumanServices Office ofMinority Health MORFDWL3 Enough is enough LupehadbeenmarriedtoGerardoforeightyearswhenshedecidedshe’dhadenough. Eventhough hegavehereverythingsheneeded,healsolikedtodrinkandgooutwithotherwomen. Lupethought thatoncetheygotmarriedhewouldchange,buthedidn’t. Duringthefirstyearoftheirmarriage Lupegotpregnant. Earlyinherpregnancy,Gerardocamehomedrunkonenightandhitherwhen sherefusedtohavesexwithhim. Fromthatpointon,Lupewouldalwaysgiveintohisdesires. Her friendswouldtellherthatthey’dseenhimwithotherwomenandthatsheshouldbecarefulbecause hecouldinfectherwithadisease.WhenLupeaskedGerardotousecondoms,hebecameviolentand said,“I’mnotgoingtowearthat! Inmyhouse,youdowhatIsay andifyoudon’tlikeit,Icanfindsomeoneelse. There’snowayyou cansurvivealonewiththechildren. You’resostupidandugly! Who isgoingtowantyou?” Lupefeltdesperateanddidn’tknowwhatto do. Howwasshegoingtosupportherchildren? Sherealizedthat, “Latinasareatriskforinfectionbecausewe’reafraidtotalktoour husbandsaboutcondoms.We’reafraidthatourhusbandswillleave us,sowestayquietandtaketheriskofhavingunprotectedsex.” Gerardogotviolentwithoneoftheirchildren,Luperealizedthatshe couldn’tstaywithhimanylonger. Onenight,likemany,whenGerardodidn’tcomehome,Lupesaw acommercialaboutdomesticviolenceanddecidedtocallthenumber. Thecounselorontheline comfortedherandreferredhertoahelpcenterwhereshefoundthesupportsheneeded.Atthecenter theyaskedhertogettestedforsexuallytransmittedinfections.ThankGod,Lupeonlyhadacurable sexuallytransmittedinfectionandnotHIV. Eventhoughitwasadifficulttime,Lupefoundthe strengthtogobacktoschoolandstartworking. Shelearnedtolivewithoutfearandwasableto providethebestforherselfandherchildren. LEARNTOLOVEYOURSELF!YOU'REWORTHU!YOURBODYANDYOURLIFEBELONGTOYOU! ENJOY YOUR SEXUALITY Ifyourpartnerdoesn'twanttousecondoms, insist! Theriskofhaving sexwithoutacondom isn'tworth becoming infectedwith HIV. B Justas yourpartner has high expectations ofyou, you also deserve someone who will fulfill yourdesires. B Ifyourpartneris macho, remind him thata good man protects his family, hischildren, and his partner. B Ifyou suspect infidelity in yourrelationship, confrontyour partner. Rememberthatyou and yourfamilyare at risk. BREAKTHE SILENCE: YOU DESERVETO KNOW . HOW TO COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR PARTNER LET'S TALK ABOUT HIV/AIDS: HOW IT AFFECTS THE ABOUT SEX LATINO COMMUNITY ManyLatinasareafraidtotalktotheirpartnersaboutsex.Eventhoughit’simportanttospeakopenly Did you know that: beforehavingsex,manypeoplefinditdifficulttotalkabout. Clearandopencommunicationisthe • 1outofevery4womenwithAIDSintheUnitedStatesisLatina. keytoagoodandsatisfyingintimaterelationshipwithyourpartner. • LatinaswithAIDSaremorelikelytohavebeeninfectedthroughheterosexualcontact. Rwietmheinmbaenretnhvaitrionntmimeanctyoifsaacpcreopcteasnscaen,dctoommparokmeiistep,ostsriubslteaynodumnueteudatlos|hareyourfeelingsandideas •• I1notuhteoUfneivteerdyS4taLtaest,inwaosmweitnhrHeIprVesiesnitnf1e/3ctoefdnbyewhaHvIiVngisnefexctwiiotnhcaasmeas.nwhoinjectsdrugsorwho respect. It is important that your partner respects your values hasinjecteddrugsinthepast. HIV and AIDS: What are they? Let's talk about sex HslIoVw:lyIswaevaikreusnitnhagtatfhfeecitsnftehcetbeoddyp’esrdseofnensaensd, cAoInDtSro:lle1 Decisionsregardingsexshouldbemadebybothyouandyourpartner. Whenandhowyouhavesex exposing them to a variety of illnesses, weak. shouldnotonlybetheman’sdecision. Leamtoknowyourbodyanddon’tbeafraidtotellyourpartner whatyoulikeanddon’tlike. Don’tfakewhatyoudon’tfeelandbehonestwithyourpartner. Tohave HOW IS HIV TRANSMITTED? ahealthyrelationship,youshouldfeelcomfortabletalkingabout: ItisveryimportanttoknowthatHIVisnottransmittedthroughcasualcontact. Youcannotgetinfectedby * Expressingemotionsandfeelings kissing,hugging,drinkingfromthesameglass,interactingorlivingwithapersonwhohasHIV/AIDS. The • Respectingeachother’ssexuallikesanddislikes onlywayyoucanbecomeinfectedisbycontactwithsemen,vaginalfluids,blood,andbreastmilk,through.. * Theuseofcondoms Sharingneedles Transfusionswith Infectionofababy • Birthcontrol andinjection infectedblood throughpregnancy YOU DESERVETHERIGHTTOENJOYAHEALTHYANDSATISFYINGSEX equipment orbreastfeeding j JalHUE WHY ARE LATINAS AT RISK? There's still time... Threeyearsago,whenAnabecamepregnantwithher Shecouldn’tunderstand howJuan couldhave secondchild,shefeltthatherlifewasnowcomplete. sacrificedtheirdreamsforamomentofpleasure. ShewashappilymarriedtoJuan,whonotonlywasa OnedaywhenAnawasattheclinic,shemetLucia. greatfatherbutawonderfulhusband. Earlyinher Luciahadalsobeeninfectedbyherhusbandbut pregnancyherdoctorsuggestedthatshetakeatestfor didn’tfindoutuntilitwastoolateandshealready HIV. Shefeltfrightened,butdecidedtodoeverything hadfullblownAIDS. AlthoughLuciawasvery possibletoprotectherbaby. Whenthedoctortoldher sick,shewasstrongandatpeacewithhersituation. shewasinfectedwithHTVshewasshocked. Shewas Luciatoldher,“ManywomenthinktheycanVget sureitwasamistakebutwhenshe infected,andthatHIVisonlyfor repeatedthetest,theresultwasthe same. Sherealizedthat, “Latinas drugs. TheythinkHIVisonlyfor areafraidtofacethepossibilitythat andthat HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF AGAINST HIV/AIDS theymaybe infectedwith HIV. happentoth, n. Man Theyarescaredtogettested.’’Ana’s totheU.S.toworkandtheydon’t idhavingsexundertheexcessiveinfluenceof doctorrecommendedthatthewhole useprotection. Theyreturnto alcoholanddrugs. familybetestedforHTV. Thetestre theircountries,orbringtheirwiveshere,andthey Juanwasalsoinfected;thankGodtheirlittlegirlwas infectthem.” LuciahelpedAnarealizethatshe Don’tmakeexcuses. I couldcontrolherHTVandthatshewasfortunateto puttingyouatrisk,talk pregnancyandafterhisbirthhersonwasalsofound havebeendiagnosedintimeforearlytreatment. make a plan to li tobeHIVfree.Anahadbeenavitginwhenshemarried Juanknewthathewaswrongtohavebeenunfaithful Juananddidn’tunderstandhowshecouldhavebeen andaskedAnatoforgivehim. Astimepassed.Ana Ifyou’rebeingphysicallyoremotionallyabusedby infected. Juanfinallyconfessedthatbeforehebrought yourpartner,gethelp.Talktoacounselororsomeone hertotheUnitedStates,hefeltverylonelyandhad yearsago. Shedecidedthatth you trustsoyoucan getthesupportyouneed. sleptwithotherwomen. AlthoughJuantoldherthat important,andthattogetherthe thesewomenmeantnothing.Anawasdepressed. thechallengesthatlieahead. YOUHAVETHERIGHTTOPROTECTYOURSELFANDTO BEPROTECTED! EARLYDETECTIONCANSt EYOURLIFE: GETTESTED! 15151515151515151^1S151^ nS1 ^ 1 il L;nl i:i ^Tl [:^T1 ^Tl i ManyLatinashavehusbands,boyfriends,parents,children,brothers,sistersandotherfamilymembers whohavebeenaffectedbyHIV.ThisbrochureisdesignedtohelpLatinasunderstandhowcommunication andsupportcanhelppreventHIVinfection. You'renotalone. Yourhealthandyourfamily'shealthdependonyou. Letushelpyou. Forcopiesofotherbrochuresinthisseries,orformoreinformation,pleasecall: l-(800)-920-5990 562-985-4396 EstosfolletostambiénestándisponiblesenEspañol