[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 507 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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115th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 507
Recognizing the importance of the goal of National Women's Health Week
to empower adolescent girls and women of all ages to make informed
choices about their sexual activity and effective steps to prevent
against HIV.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 15, 2018
Mr. Booker submitted the following resolution; which was referred to
the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Recognizing the importance of the goal of National Women's Health Week
to empower adolescent girls and women of all ages to make informed
choices about their sexual activity and effective steps to prevent
against HIV.
Whereas approximately \1/2\ of the 36,700,000 people living with human
immunodeficiency virus (commonly known as ``HIV'') worldwide are women;
Whereas approximately 1,000 adolescent girls and young women worldwide are
infected with HIV each day;
Whereas 22 percent of new HIV infections worldwide in 2016 were in young women
between 15 and 24 years of age;
Whereas 120,000 children worldwide died in 2016 of causes related to acquired
immune deficiency syndrome (commonly known as ``AIDS'');
Whereas AIDS is a leading cause of death among adolescents globally;
Whereas young girls who experience violence are 3 times more likely to be
infected with HIV, and a survey of 11 countries found that 1 in 3 women
reported their first sexual experience as forced or coerced;
Whereas girls account for 74 percent of new HIV infections among adolescents in
sub-Saharan Africa;
Whereas 1 in 4 people living with HIV in the United States is a female who is 13
years of age or older;
Whereas approximately 226,000 women live with HIV in the United States;
Whereas 20 percent of the AIDS diagnoses in the United States, from the
beginning of the epidemic through the end of 2015, were among women;
Whereas HIV affects all demographics of women, however, African-American women
are disproportionately affected;
Whereas African-American women made up more than 61 percent of new HIV
infections in 2015, while only accounting for 14 percent of the female
population in the United States;
Whereas \1/2\ of the women living with HIV in the United States are receiving
care;
Whereas only 4 in 10 HIV infected women in the United States have reached viral
suppression;
Whereas the annual number of HIV infections through perinatal transmission in
the United States has declined by over 90 percent since the early 1990s;
Whereas, when a woman living with HIV receives comprehensive care before,
during, and after a pregnancy, the risk of passing HIV to their child
reduces to less than 1 percent;
Whereas women and adolescent girls face serious prevention challenges due to
inadequate access to evidence-based, age appropriate comprehensive
sexuality and HIV prevention education and prevention tools, including--
(1) male and female condoms;
(2) pre-exposure prophylaxis (commonly referred to as ``PrEP'') and
testing;
(3) sexual and gender based violence prevention and care services; and
(4) sexual and reproductive health information and services, including
screening and treatment for sexually transmitted infections;
Whereas PrEP regimens are more than 90 percent effective in reducing the risk of
HIV infection from sex, yet only 10 to 20 percent of at risk women were
aware of PrEP regimens as a viable HIV prevention option in 2014; and
Whereas transgender women and women who are lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and
intersex are between 19 and 40 percent more at risk of HIV than the
general population, and have risk factors that are exacerbated by
stigma, discrimination, and violence: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) recognizes the importance of the goal of National
Women's Health Week to empower young women to make informed
choices about their sexual activity and take effective steps to
protect against human immunodeficiency virus (commonly referred
to as ``HIV'');
(2) applauds the leadership of the United States on efforts
to eliminate new pediatric HIV infections in the United States
and around the world, and supports providing adolescent girls
and young women with the evidence-based approaches necessary to
prevent new HIV infections in themselves and their children;
(3) supports the investment of the United States
President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (commonly referred
to as ``PEPFAR'') in the DREAMS (Determined, Resilient,
Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored, and Safe) partnership, that
aims to significantly reduce new HIV infections among
adolescent girls and young women through evidence-based, multi-
sectoral approaches and encourages PEPFAR to expand this
approach and investment;
(4) commends PEPFAR for significantly reducing in 2017, for
the first time, new HIV infections among adolescent girls and
young women within the highest-burden areas of 10 sub-Saharan
African countries, and notes the need for ongoing work so women
and girls can realize their right to live free from HIV,
violence, and discrimination, including in the United States;
(5) encourages State and local governments, including
public health agencies and media organizations, to recognize
and support National Women's Health Week, publicize its
importance among communities, and encourage individuals,
especially women and girls, to get tested for HIV;
(6) supports effective and comprehensive HIV prevention
education programs targeted at women and girls to promote their
knowledge and access to information and services, including for
early identification of vulnerabilities through screening for
violence, testing, and other modalities that connect those in
need to evidence-based and human rights-based prevention, care,
and treatment services; and
(7) urges continued investment and engagement across
foreign assistance programs and diplomatic efforts to address
violence against women and girls, to combat discrimination on
the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, and to
recognize the inability of adolescent girls to access a full
range of their sexual and reproductive health and rights as a
key driver of the HIV pandemic.
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