ViiV Healthcare Launches Activity Books for HIV Education in Black Women

In honor of of the recent National Women and Girls HIV/Awareness Day (March 10), ViiV Healthcare, the only pharmaceutical company focused solely on HIV, has released a series of activity books entitledRisk to Reasonsto help change the way Black women are disproportionately affected by HIV and highlight means for HIV prevention.

The books were created in collaboration with Black women who are HIV prevention and treatment advocates from across the country. They’re meant to explore pleasure and protection as reasons for HIV prevention and are designed to address the gap in sex/intimacy education to help Black women build the knowledge and skills needed to effectively prevent against HIV.

The series expands on one of the core “reasons” that women engage in HIV prevention — to increase pleasure and deepen intimacy while still feeling protected. There are three activity books in the series, “Self,” “Intimates,” and “Care Providers.” They range between 30-60 pages and are meant to be completed either as a series, one book at a time, or activity by activity.

Additionally, the activity books will be implemented in partnership with advocates, community-based organizations, and social clubs across the country with the goal of getting more Black women connected to prevention and care after their official launch on March 10.

“Women are rarely prioritized in HIV prevention efforts,” said Dr. Kimberly Smith, Senior Vice President and Head of Research and Development at ViiV Health care, in a statement. “At ViiV Healthcare, we are working to change that.”

She continued, “We know that by prioritizing ‘reasons’ for prevention rather than ‘risk,’ we can open the door to talk about sex and intimacy as part of the whole person’s health and, in turn, move closer to ending the HIV epidemic.”

All the activity books can be downloaded here.