In France, 42 % of new contamination concerns women. Women are vulnerable to HIV/AIDS in many ways. The physiological risk of contamination through heterosexual sex is three to seven times greater for women than for men. This biological factor is accentuated by social, economic and legal factors that reduce women’s ability to negotiate protected sexual intercourse. To compensate for this specific vulnerability, women should be given the means to become involved in their own protection and keep control of it. Access to the female condom is still difficult and expensive: Femidom are sold at two euros each, four times more expensive than the male condom.

Recent studies have shown that the more protective means are available, the greater the amount of protected sexual intercourse. As well as promoting existing protective means, France should therefore financially support clinical trials on new protective means for women, such as microbicides, and encourage research.