Digital event occurred on March 10, 2021; 12:30 - 2:00 pm ET
To observe National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (#NWGHAAD), we presented As We See It: Wisdom and the Unique Experiences of Women Born with HIV – an interactive, multi-media session led by women who grew up living with HIV. Co-hosted by two fierce advocates and The Well Project Community Advisory Board members, Porchia Dees and Ieshia Scott, the session continues the work and fact sheet they helped to develop on this topic, "Women with Early Acquired HIV". The conversation streamed live on our Facebook page and YouTube channel, reaching thousands and generating a dynamic discussion among viewers.
The event began with a brief presentation by Allison Agwu, MD, which provided some clinical context for a lively, layered, and powerful conversation among women, all of whom were born with HIV. Topics covered included: finding out their HIV status in childhood; sex, dating, and disclosing (or not) to sexual partners; transitioning from pediatric to adult care; impact of U=U; losing parents to complications of AIDS – and so many more areas were touched upon that deserve their own full conversations. Moderators and panelists asked one another questions, acknowledging the similarities of their experiences and gaining insight from the differences.
Co-Hosts:
- Porchia Dees – Linkage to Care Coordinator, Black AIDS Institute; The Well Project CAB Member
- Ieshia Scott – Founder, Positive Support; The Well Project CAB Member
Speakers and Panelists:
- Allison Agwu, MD, a pediatrician at Johns Hopkins University
- Kalee Garland
- Grissel Granados
- L'Orangelis Thomas Negron
- Zora Voyce
- Introductions and closing by Krista Martel – Executive Director, The Well Project
Session Video Replay and Slides
- Download a PDF of Dr. Agwu's slides presented during the event
Additional Resources from The Well Project
- Women with Early Acquired HIV (fact sheet)
- Long-Term Survivors of HIV (fact sheet)
- Surviving HIV Over the Long Term: The Past, Present, and the Future (two-part webinar)
- Porchia Dees' writings on A Girl Like Me (blog)
- Ieshia Scott's writings on A Girl Like Me (blog)
- Women Living with HIV: Over the Long Term and Across the Lifespan (issue brief; PDF)
- Talking with Your Children about Your HIV Status or Your Children's Status (fact sheet)
Other Relevant Resources
- We're Still Here (2015 documentary by panelist Grissel Granados, via YouTube)
- Roja Vida (artwork, advocacy, and other projects by panelist L'Orangelis Thomas Negrón)
- My Purora: Navigating Relationships & HIV (website and blog by panelist Zora Voyce)
