SAO PAULO (AP) - Brazil is using an indigenous language for the
first in a campaign aimed at curbing violence against women and
the spread of HIV. The program includes folders warning that
"violence or fear of violence increase women's vulnerability to
HIV infection and other sexually transmitted diseases" because
women who fear violence can be forced to have unprotected sex.
To get the message across to indigenous populations, folders and
pamphlets were prepared in Tikuna, which is spoken by more than
30,000 Indians in the western tip of Amazonas state. Educational
material is being prepared in other indigenous languages as
well. The campaign is a joint effort between Brazil and three
United Nations agencies including the Joint United Nations
Program on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS). "Indigenous groups have the
right to this information in their own language," said Pedro
Chequer, the UNAIDS director in Brazil. The campaign using
materials in Tikuna was launched after health workers tested
about 20,000 Indians for se