Share knowledge. Take Action. Description of community art project for National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day 2014 lead by Farmworker Justice.

1. Share Knowledge. Take Action.
National Women and Girls
HIV/AIDS Awareness Day 2014
Community Art Project

2. Farmworker Justice has partnered with the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s
(CDC) Act Against AIDS Leadership Initiative to
focus awareness and education efforts on one
of the most vulnerable and marginalized
groups in the United States: farmworkers.

3. Through this project, Farmworker Justice
provides free training, information, webinars,
and tools on HIV prevention to strengthen
non-HIV organizations’ awareness, knowledge,
and action within Latino communities across
the United States.

4. National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
is a national campaign to raise awareness about HIV
and its impact on women and girls.
Farmworker Justice is proud to work with our Act
Against AIDS Leadership Initiative (AAALI) partners
ASPIRA and the National Hispanic Council on Aging
(NHCOA) to promote this important day.

5. Women and girls have been impacted by
HIV/AIDS since the beginning of the epidemic.
Women’s and girls’ risk of HIV is often
overlooked, although approximately 25% of
those infected with HIV in the United States
are women.

6. Black and Latina women are
disproportionately affected compared to
women of other races/ethnicities.
By the end of 2010, Black women accounted
for 64% of all estimated new HIV infections
among women and Latina women accounted
for an estimated 15%.
Source: Office of Women’s Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

7. We partnered with our Latina AAALI partners
ASPIRA and NHCOA, and collected a series of
thoughts and reactions on HIV/AIDS and its
impact on women and girls.

8. The responses we got were truly moving.
Some women talked about when they first
learned about HIV or when they first
experienced the death of someone close to
them due to HIV.

9. Others admitted to not really even thinking
about women and HIV and they had not
realized that women have different risks than
men do and that some women may have a
harder time protecting themselves from HIV
or taking care of themselves if already
infected.

10. Some people sent powerful words that came
to mind when they thought about HIV and
women: fear, exposed, voiceless, orphans,
rape, mothers.

11. We received responses in English, Spanish,
and even Mixteco.
Thoughts came from farmworkers,
farmworker organizations, health centers,
youth, older adults, national organizations,
and organization Presidents and CEOs.

12. From each submission we received, we
created a word cloud image of a single hand.
We then combined the hands to create a
larger image of a tree to symbolize courage
and strength, life and growth.

13. Submission from Farmworker Justice Staff member:
Geographic and social isolation of farmworkers leads to risky behaviors that can spread HIV
among populations that are not able to deal with the consequences. The impacts are felt across
international borders. To help women and girls in farmworker communities, we need to be
proactive in our outreach and education efforts. Women and girls need information, tools and
strategies to help them understand and protect themselves against HIV. If women and girls feel
informed and empowered to defend themselves, they are more likely to ask questions, be
prepared, and take action. ---Virginia Ruiz, Director of Occupational & Environmental Health
Farmworker Justice

15. Impact:
Through this collective art project, we were able to reduce
the stigma that surrounds HIV/AIDS by inviting non-health
organizations to think about HIV/AIDS and to educate
community partners about the challenges women and girls
face in receiving prevention information, securing testing, and
connecting with treatment.

16. To see all of the individual word clouds and
read the individual messages, please visit our
Facebook page.
www.facebook.com/FarmworkerJustice

17. Participating Organizations
100 Black Men of America
ASPIRA
Center for Black Equity
EMPOWERR
Farmworker Justice
National Hispanic Council on Aging
NOBLE
Rural Women's Health Project
Sea Mar Community Health Centers
Southwest Key Programs
University of North Carolina Health Behavior MPH: Class of 2013
Mexican Consulate Ventanilla de Salud - Calexico
Mexican Consulate Ventanilla de Salud - Seattle

18. Share Knowledge. Take Action