Women and HIV - Part 2

Biological (physical) vulnerability.

Heterosexual women can far more easily become infected through heterosexual penetrative sex than men. Vaginal and/or anal sex is much riskier than other modes of transmission because:

• The vagina and anus have larger areas of exposed and sensitive skin
• The virus can survive for longer in the vagina and the anus than on the surface of the penis where it is exposed to air
• There is more HIV in semen than there is in the fluids of the vagina or anus
• The vaginal and anal walls are much more likely to be ruptured during vaginal or anal sex, especially if the sex is violent or coercive. Cuts and abrasions allow easy access for the HI virus into the blood stream