Women account for over 25% of all new HIV/AIDS diagnoses in the U.S.
-(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)



SM: When did it hit you that you were “HIV positive”?
Marvelyn: I began calling people. My sister was like “oh my god, oh my god!” She was freaking out. Another friend was eight months pregnant at the time. She hung up the phone, [then] called back and said, ‘You have HIV; I don’t want you to come around me or my child.’ My first rejection made me step back and think, ‘Marvelyn, the doctor just told you you’re HIV positive.’

SM: How did you feel toward the boyfriend that infected you?
Marvelyn: I always look back to that night and … he had let me know he didn’t have a condom. And he made sure it was my choice. So I was like, ‘well if you would have used a condom you wouldn’t have been in this situation. You had a choice.’ So I was never mad at him for infecting me. I was mad at him for not wanting to talk to me afterwards.