Addressing RTI/STI and HIV/AIDS, and Gender Discrimination in Treatment in India

In this article an attempt is made to demonstrate the level of awareness of Reproductive Tract Infection (RTI)/Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and the extent of discrimination in treatment seeking behaviour among men and women who have got symptoms of RTI/STI in India. The awareness about RTI among women is higher than that among men by 8 percentage points, but the level of awareness about STI among men is higher than that among women by 7 percentage points. The awareness about HIV/AIDS among men is higher than that among women by 18 percentage points. Among both men and women awareness about HIV/AIDS is substantially higher than that of RTI and STI. The level of education and work participation rates among men and women have a direct relationship with the level of awareness of HIV/AIDS. In India, about 30 per cent of women of age 15-44 years had symptoms of RTI/STI as against 12.3 per cent of men of age 20-54 years. However, only about 38 per cent of the women sought treatment as against 55 per cent of men.