This week I’m at the International AIDS Conference in Vienna, Austria. I’m here because in September I’ll be headed back to school to do my Masters with a focus on youth and HIV in Canada, so this will help me to get a head start. But, while I’m here, I figured that I could share some of the stuff I learned with you!  I’m not going to start at the beginning – if you want some more basic info on HIV, you can check out this HIV 101 factsheet or click here to learn more about what Plan does against HIV.

Instead, I’m going to start with HIV and girls.   HIV is something that affects girls around the world in many ways…in the 15 to 24 age group, girls are THREE TIMES more likely to be infected with HIV than their male counterparts.   This week, I’ll talk a bit about what makes girls more vulnerable, but first I want to talk about how HIV doesn’t always mean disempowerment.

Yesterday I met a girl who has turned the situation that led her to become HIV-positive on its head: now she’s a leader for the rights of youth living with HIV around the world.

Rachel Arinii from Indonesia spoke on behalf of young people to more than 20,000 people yesterday at the AIDS Conference Opening Ceremony. Her message was that “young people account for around 40 percent of new infections” and because of that, they should be part of the solution. “We want to be recognized, respected and supported,” she said. “We want a seat at the table to make decisions, not just make coffee and photocopies.”

She identified three critical needs for the youth movement against AIDS:

  1. Respect for the human rights of young people
  2. Access to information and services
  3. Sustaining young people’s leadership

Her message goes beyond HIV and into all activism, including advocating for the rights of girls. Especially her last point:

“We are the leaders of tomorrow, but, we are also the leaders of today.”

That’s right, girls!  We’re the leaders of TODAY!