Latest news with #women
Daily Mail
17 minutes ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Alarm over fit young women with silent 'old people' disorder... and the terrifyingly common cause
They appear to be the picture of health - young women in the prime of their youth with glowing skin and fit physiques. But, for a growing number quietly struggling with a crippling 'invisible' condition usually associated with old age, looks can be deceptive. Your browser does not support iframes.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Life expectancy of women with HIV in B.C. hasn't increased as much as men's: new research
While British Columbians living with HIV are living much longer than a few decades ago, the life expectancy for women isn't increasing at the same rate as men's, according to a recent study by the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS. Data gathered between 1996 to 2001 and 2012 to 2020 shows that in B.C., men's life expectancy rose from 44 to 68 years old, while the life expectancy for women only rose from 42 to 61 years old. B.C.'s healthcare system began providing free, highly effective antiretroviral therapy to people living with HIV 1996 which, as the authors note, increased life expectancy substantially. Researchers had expected the life expectancy gap between men and women to narrow over time, but were surprised to find the gap widened. "The life expectancy gap between men and women living with HIV should be narrowing, not getting worse," said the study's lead author Katherine W. Kooij in a release. They noted that this differs from what is observed in the general population globally, where women with HIV tend to live longer than men. "We suspect that this discrepancy is driven by an unequal burden on women due to adverse socio-structural factors including barriers to accessing healthcare, unemployment, poverty, unstable housing, stigma, and discrimination," it said. In the population studied, women more often lived in less wealthy neighborhoods and more often reported injection drugs as a transmission risk factor. In addition, women with HIV more often had substance use disorders than men with HIV. Scott Elliott, CEO of the Dr. Peter Centre, which serves people living with HIV in Vancouver, said the organization has been working to strengthen its programs for women. He said that, based on his experience, it is harder to attract and keep women in care programs than it is men, because women are often caregivers themselves. "They're taking care of others. Many of them have kids and families," he said. "And so they often don't come into care… until it's very, very advanced." Elliott said that because men make up the majority of the population of people living with HIV, many of the support programs in Vancouver and across the country are designed for men, or are overrun by men. "We get a lot of resistance or a lot of shame and a lot of fear about women coming into services," said Elliott, adding the Dr. Peter Centre has introduced women's only programming to try to mitigate this. He said the key to helping women with HIV is ensuring they have access to care that works for them. What has worked for the Dr. Peter Centre is to have a long-term relationship with the patient. "It's a complex illness," he said. "If they're going to a doctor's office and have to wait two hours, it's not gonna work... If there's other aspects like food, housing, access to medication that isn't looked after, it's not gonna work." The study recommends women with HIV be provided with better supports, including low-barrier care, better housing and community connection.
Fox News
5 hours ago
- Health
- Fox News
Civil War spy Elizabeth Van Lew defined courage fighting for what she believed
In an age of instant accolades and viral valor, heroes are everywhere. Celebrities tearfully describing a difficult breakup on daytime TV are deemed heroic. You knew the word had lost all meaning when alleged murderer Luigi Mangione became a "hero" on social media for taking the life of Brian Thompson, the CEO of United Healthcare. How is it that we have so lost the thread? Just who qualifies as a hero was on my mind as I began researching my book "Lincoln's Lady Spymaster" several years ago. We were in the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, our lives upended. I eagerly ditched the commute and worked from home but as the months in isolation slid by, I began to worry. How long could this go on for? The situation was more dire for many of the young women producers I had worked with in our offices in Manhattan. They were lonely and anxious, living alone in tiny New York apartments or at home in their childhood bedrooms. One young woman I knew started having panic attacks. I wanted to help these co-workers cope – but what could I do? Look, I reasoned with myself, women in this country have faced far more difficult challenges than a temporary lockdown (it had to be temporary, after all!). American women have survived wars, myriad financial panics and so many challenges. I decided I would find a subject, a real woman from our nation's past, someone who lived through challenging times and not only survived but left her mark on the world. I wanted what we all want in a hero – someone acting courageously, not for headlines or money or even public gratitude, but because they felt called to right a wrong regardless of consequences. I first learned of Elizabeth Van Lew the same way we find out about most new things, from a web search. An academic historian had written about her, and she was sometimes included in lists of the moonlight-and-magnolia-style of female civil war spies, the kind historians don't take too seriously. I was hooked when I learned she was a spymaster, and strikingly, a Southern belle who chose to stay faithful to the Union and who ran a spy ring for President Abraham Lincoln's top general, Ulysses S. Grant, while living in Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy. When I began, I thought of myself as knowledgeable about the era. I knew the bright lights, Lincoln, Grant, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. But this woman had left little trace. She was generally missing from much of the Civil War literature. James McPherson mentioned her not at all in his sweeping nearly 900-page history of the conflict, "Battle Cry of Freedom." I learned she had left a diary, where she spilled her fears and hopes during the war. I imagined myself writing a book about a woman whom society underestimates and throws obstacles in her path, a tale of uplift! But my research exposed a secret history – a story Van Lew herself tried to cancel. Unlike other spies, she refused to write a book of her Civil War exploits after the war and conducted few newspaper interviews. I began to discover the real Elizabeth and she surprised me. I found she was complicated and made difficult, morally questionable decisions. She lied to friends and neighbors, brazenly stole secrets from some and bribed others. Although she was a supporter of both the Union and abolitionism, her family owned slaves. Late in the war, as she became frustrated at the pace of Union advances, she tried to convince Union war planners to abduct Confederate leadership. She was the kind of woman who could as easily inspect the body of a dead soldier at dawn under threat of discovery by the enemy as preside over a tea party, swapping gossip and passing canapes. And, yet she provided invaluable information to the Union and ran what historians have described as the most-effective spy ring on either side of the conflict. As I began writing the book, I recalled the fact that co-workers and friends had labeled me a hero when I went public with my diagnosis of Stage 3 breast cancer. While it felt nice to be called a hero, I never really accepted the idea. My fight with cancer was really an act of self-interest. What I saw in Elizabeth Van Lew was someone who acted with no self-regard, inviting risk after risk. Hers was not a Daniel Penny kind of courage, the kind of instant reaction to fight a physical threat on behalf of others that we all admire, but a more sustained battle of conscience and will. In this world, we need both kinds of heroes and could welcome more. This year marks the 160th anniversary of the Civil War's end and Lincoln's assassination. As we remember that tragic war, let's not forget the heroes that emerged, especially those that have remained in the shadows. Elizabeth Van Lew was one of tens of thousands of women who emerged to fight the war in their own way. Hundreds fought on the battlefield following husbands, brothers and fathers into service; women nursed the injured, others ran their family farms and businesses on their own for the first time. Van Lew's story is a testament to the essence of true heroism: unwavering moral conviction, selfless action and the courage to stand against prevailing tides. In an era when the term "hero" is often diluted, her legacy reminds us that real heroes are those who, without fanfare, commit themselves to justice and humanity.
CBC
5 hours ago
- General
- CBC
Life expectancy of women with HIV in B.C. hasn't increased as much as men's: new research
Social Sharing While British Columbians living with HIV are living much longer than a few decades ago, the life expectancy for women isn't increasing at the same rate as men's, according to a recent study by the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS. Data gathered between 1996 to 2001 and 2012 to 2020 shows that in B.C., men's life expectancy rose from 44 to 68 years old, while the life expectancy for women only rose from 42 to 61 years old. B.C.'s healthcare system began providing free, highly effective antiretroviral therapy to people living with HIV 1996 which, as the authors note, increased life expectancy substantially. Researchers had expected the life expectancy gap between men and women to narrow over time, but were surprised to find the gap widened. "The life expectancy gap between men and women living with HIV should be narrowing, not getting worse," said the study's lead author Katherine W. Kooij in a release. They noted that this differs from what is observed in the general population globally, where women with HIV tend to live longer than men. "We suspect that this discrepancy is driven by an unequal burden on women due to adverse socio-structural factors including barriers to accessing healthcare, unemployment, poverty, unstable housing, stigma, and discrimination," it said. In the population studied, women more often lived in less wealthy neighborhoods and more often reported injection drugs as a transmission risk factor. In addition, women with HIV more often had substance use disorders than men with HIV. Scott Elliott, CEO of the Dr. Peter Centre, which serves people living with HIV in Vancouver, said the organization has been working to strengthen its programs for women. He said that, based on his experience, it is harder to attract and keep women in care programs than it is men, because women are often caregivers themselves. "They're taking care of others. Many of them have kids and families," he said. "And so they often don't come into care… until it's very, very advanced." Elliott said that because men make up the majority of the population of people living with HIV, many of the support programs in Vancouver and across the country are designed for men, or are overrun by men. B.C. HIV advocates raising the alarm about increasing rates in Canada 6 months ago Duration 2:27 "We get a lot of resistance or a lot of shame and a lot of fear about women coming into services," said Elliott, adding the Dr. Peter Centre has introduced women's only programming to try to mitigate this. He said the key to helping women with HIV is ensuring they have access to care that works for them. What has worked for the Dr. Peter Centre is to have a long-term relationship with the patient. "It's a complex illness," he said. "If they're going to a doctor's office and have to wait two hours, it's not gonna work... If there's other aspects like food, housing, access to medication that isn't looked after, it's not gonna work."
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Park staff trained to tackle harassment of women
Park staff across London are being trained to spot and respond to harassment, as part of a new drive to make green spaces safer for women and girls. The training, developed by the Suzy Lamplugh Trust and the University of Leeds, will give staff the tools to step in when they see inappropriate behaviour. Members of the public can also sign up for the course. Campaigners say many women avoid parks, especially after dark, due to safety concerns. The charity which campaigns against stalking and harassment is also calling for better lighting, more staff, and for women to have a say in how parks are designed. "The kinds of behaviours this training would assist with include inappropriate comments, gestures, cat calling or even unwanted touching," said Saskia Garner from the Suzy Lamplugh Trust. "Someone sitting down next to you on a bench and putting their arm around you – anything that makes you feel unsafe is not OK." Ms Garner added that many people want to help but are unsure how to act safely. "You wouldn't go in a park by yourself after dark or even with one other person because it doesn't feel safe," one woman told BBC London in the Regent's Park. Another added: "[Parks aren't] not very well lit... in the one where I live there are no street lamps." The Suzy Lamplugh Trust, set up after the 1986 disappearance of estate agent Suzy Lamplugh, works to reduce violence and harassment through training and support. "People don't feel they can intervene," Ms Garner said. "They worry about making things worse. The women we spoke to said they didn't feel safe to challenge the harassment and didn't think anyone would help them." Violence against women and girls 'endemic' Most women feel unsafe in parks, research finds Park staff trained in handling harassment cases The scheme encourages the idea of "active bystanders" – people who feel confident to intervene without putting themselves at risk. "This training gives people safe tools to step in. Whether by distracting someone or helping to report what's happened. But it always prioritises your safety and what's right for that moment," Ms Garner added. Posters will soon appear in parks and community centres across London, encouraging people to sign up. Dr Anna Barker, from the University of Leeds, said: "We want to build a community of active bystanders… so people feel more confident and connected, and better able to act when they see harassment." The training is being rolled out using Keep Britain Tidy's Green Flag Award network across England and Wales, the University of Leeds said. Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to Suzy Lamplugh Trust Keep Britain Tidy - Green Flag Award
