Deborah Johnson

About the author: Deborah Johnson is working on a book on children and AIDS. Her research has been partially funded by the Center for Economic Policy Research on Women and Gender at Stanford University and the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation in support of the Stanford Health Promotion Resource Center.

Heterosexual transmission of the virus that causes AIDS continues to rise. Women face a much greater risk than men of becoming infected with HIV during heterosexual intercourse. Nevertheless, the large majority of AIDS prevention campaigns and public service announcements (PSAs) aimed at the heterosexual population emphasize the risks men run. In a study of over three hundred PSAs in three dozen countries, nearly half did not even include women. By emphasizing the male perspective in PSAs, women are taught to believe that men are...