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Activists of the "Young Medics of Russia" social organization and city volunteers form a red ribbon

While the Russian government looks away, AIDS spreads quickly

Health

In Russia, the stigma around AIDS is so strong it has hindered response and allowed the disease to spread.

MTV Host Tinashe Venge, center, and Across Women's Lives reporter Jasmine Garsd, second from right, stand with South African students

Here are 5 ways you can help fight HIV/AIDS in South Africa and globally

Health
Close-up of Saidy Brown wearing a gray shirt

At 14, she tested positive for HIV — now she calls herself an HIVictor

Sexuality
A woman in a baseball hat next to a man in front of the Johannesburg skyline.

What it means in South Africa when you are #blessed

Lifestyle
Close-up of woman holding white silicone vaginal ring

The key to stopping HIV could someday be a vaginal ring or a needle in the butt

Sexuality
Abu-Baker Sebeela stands in a tavern holding up a pamphlet

Why violence is linked to the rising rate of HIV in South Africa’s young women

Conflict

It doesn’t help that the South African legal system has been slow to recognize violence against women.

South African artist Lady Skollie on a sofa in her studio with cut-out shapes of bananas on the wall behind her

South African artist Lady Skollie explains why she paints burning vaginas

Arts

“It’s got a burning vagina in the middle and there are all men — so it’s like they are warming themselves around a burning vagina. Which, to me, is pretty much South Africa.”

Children run past a mural painting of an Aids ribbon at a school in Khutsong Township, 74 km (46 miles) west of Johannesburg, August 22, 2011.

Want to learn about sex? In South Africa, just turn on the radio.

Media

South Africa has one of the highest rates of HIV infection in the world. For 20 years, talk radio shows have been giving advice on how to stop the spread of the virus. But are South Africans listening?

Close-up of the face of Nhlanhla, an HIV positive teen mom in South Africa.

At 16, she found out she was pregnant and HIV positive. That’s when she found her strength.

Health

Nhlanhla found out she was pregnant when she was just 16. Then she learned that she was also HIV positive. “When you find out you are positive there is no time for pointing fingers,” she says.

A distorted map is projected based on population living with HIV. In this map, South Africa is the largest country in the world.

In South Africa, HIV rates are rising in young women and girls. Our new series looks at the reasons why.

Lifestyle

Across Women’s Lives travels to South Africa to meet those on the front lines of the fight to stop the rising rate of HIV in young women.