Academic and media discourse on AIDS and HIV has so far tended to ignore women, or, at best, has portrayed them either as transmitters of HIV to male partners and children, or as innocent victims of morally degenerate men. This book challenges such views and looks at the complex realities of women's relationships to HIV and AIDS.

Pointing to the development of a feminist psychology of the subject, the book highlights key issues in the following areas: HIV antibody testing of women and its implications for reproductive rights, women's perceptions of HIV `risk', with particular reference to sexuality and drug use, women's experiences of caring voluntarily and professionally for people living with HIV and AIDS, and representations of women and AIDS in scientific, policy and media debates.