[Posted Feb. 6, 2008]

National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Theme Stresses Prevention

Manassas, VA (BlackNews.com) —“Prevention is Power” is the theme for this year’s eighth annual National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, which started nationwide Feb. 7.
      The special day is aimed at black women, who are more likely to contract the virus through high-risk heterosexual contact with husbands or boyfriends who may be bisexual. The goal is to urge all women especially black women to love, protect, and value their bodies.
     "Women in marriages are lulled into a false sense of security," says Joy Marie, the author of the new book, The Straight-Up Truth About The Down-Low: Women Share Their Stories of Betrayal, Pain and Survival (Creative Wisdom Books-February 2008). Joy Marie is the pen name of two women who have survived marriages to down-low men.

      Four years ago, the "Down-low" was a hot, controversial topic discussed in the media. Recently, the subject of the down-low lifestyle seems to be taboo and has been swept under the rug and labeled "hype" and a "myth".
     "The Down-low lifestyle is not hype nor a myth, neither is it just another way to vilify black men," says Marie. "This is evidenced by the many letters, e-mails and phone calls we receive every week from women in crisis because they have discovered their husbands/boyfriends are sleeping with men behind their backs.
     “Recently, we received a telephone call from a woman whose sister has contracted HIV/AIDS from her down-low husband. The sister was hospitalized with pneumonia and an extremely low T-cell count.
     “We believe the account of our experiences and what we have learned from other women will bring about awareness and a heightened sense of self-responsibility. We want women to become informed, thus able to protect themselves from the men who practice this deceitful, life-threatening behavior."
    “Remember we can't control others, but we can control ourselves. Get tested. Take your life into your own hands and remember, "Prevention is Power." To order this book, go to www.straightuptruth.com.

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