Jasmyne Jackson

This dispatch is written by Jasmyne Jackson who has just graduated in neuro science and will be a physician. Zakiyah Sayyed  has a degree in interdisciplinary engineering with a focus on green design. She now works with the eco girl project and the Pedagogy of Action in the Department of Afroamrican and African Studies.

Enjoy, Nesha Z. Haniff

It is Imperative for Women to Control the Research That is Done on Them

On May 16th 2012, POA ventured to the Center for the AIDS Program of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA), which is the leading research institution on microbicides and HIV.  My pervious classroom experience truly came to life because I took Dr. Haniff’s course that focused on microbicides, which are substances that women can apply vaginally without the knowledge of their partner to prevent sexually transmitted HIV. In the course, we examined how medical practice, research and treatments have historically ignored the need for women to use their voice to maintain sovereignty over their own bodies and microbicides have the potential to fill the void of  women controlled HIV prevention mechanism.  Dr. Quarraisha Abdool Karim is the infectious diseases epidemiologist who heads the research  on microbicides  in South Africa. She is a scientist that utilizes a social framework for analyzing the HIV epidemic.  She pays close attention to HIV in young women, as women ages 23-24 have over fifty percent HIV prevalence in certain areas. As an aspiring physician, it was empowering meeting the woman who is heading the research at CAPRISA.

Having a woman talking about research on a disease that disproportionally affects women and utilizes women research subjects is important to ensure that women’s perspectives and experiences are not ignored. Usually, research is controlled by males, even when the research is focused on women’s issues. It is imperative for women to control the research that is done on them because women’s health has been historically forced to fit into the male-centered framework of science. For example, in Dr. Haniff’s class we learned that heart attack symptoms are different for males and females, but because the male symptoms are more publicized a lot of women will not even realize they are having a heart attack. It is still astonishing to me that we met the women who is working to transform HIV prevention by incorporating a mechanism that women can control so that women will not have to rely on condom negotiation. This could greatly impact populations that are vulnerable to HIV infections.

It was also refreshing meeting an individual in the science field who has a passion for social justice, as there is a misconception that these two worlds are separated.  Dr. Karim and the CAPRISA staff care about women’s agency and are diligent about ensuring that their research projects incorporate informed consent. She believes that this is critical in conducting research in South African communities.  Dr. Karim believes eradicating the fear surrounding HIV will allow communities to control the disease instead of the stigma controlling the communities. It was truly an honor to dialogue with a revolutionary scientist involved in the HIV epidemic.

Jasmyne Jackson
Pedagogy of Action Team Member 2012

Here are a few short clips with Dr. Karim speaking on the ethics of research:

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