Lori Heise Interview

I began working to expand women and men's options for HIV prevention back in 1991 and I remember the days when people didn't take us seriously. The irony was that the very community of folks who you would have thought would have joined the effort—those working in HIV—were the least receptive to the message that current strategies were inadequate, especially for women. At the time our allies were women's health advocates and those working on women's sexual and reproductive health; early research was undertaken by those developing contraceptives, not virologists or visionaries in the HIV community.

One of the first goals of the Global Campaign for Microbicides was to get women's prevention needs onto the HIV agenda!

Actually, the demand for microbicides emerged from the voices and experiences of grassroots women who were really clear that if male condoms were the only option on offer, they would have little chance to protect themselves. Many felt that it was impossible to raise the issue of condom use with husbands and other long term partners. It was this reality that early advocates tried to highlight, drawing analogies to early efforts to help women realize their reproductive intentions. Effective contraceptives alone would never be a complete answer to this challenge -- but it is hard to imagine a strategy that would work without access to the means to control fertility.

We've come a long way since then. The movement has expanded to include the needs of men who have sex with men and women who have anal sex. Science has evolved in fits and starts and we have a series of successes now to build upon. I'm proud of having been one small part of this history. And I am especially proud to have received recognition the larger group of advocates who share a passion for this work.