WID Information

October, 1998. Volume 19(1). Office of Women in International Development.

Gendered Responses to HIV/AIDS Infection: A Case Study of Kabarole District in Western Uganda.By Consolata Kabonesa, PH.D.

As the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) continues to take a heavy toll in Uganda and elsewhere in Africa, it is important that research initiatives focus on the responses of those living in rural areas who comprise the majority of the Ugandan population. In 1991 HIV infection in rural areas was 5%, much less than the 30% of urban areas (Moodie, 1991). However, because 80-90% (Hollander, 1996) of the Ugandan population lives in the rural areas, 5% is a large number of people, and HIV/AIDS could spread rapidly. Because "condoms are an important way of reducing HIV transmission" (Wilson, Zenda, and Lavelle, 1992, p.262), one of the major objectives of this research was to explain and predict characteristics and perceptions of individuals using condoms. At the same time the research aimed at making policy and intervention-oriented recommendations based on individual characteristics and perceptions associated with condom use. This article is a summary of research carried out in Uganda in 1996 for my Ph.D. degree (Kabonesa, 1998).

A survey of 200 individuals between 15 and 50 years of age randomly sampled was conducted in Kabarole District, Western Uganda in 1996. Two focus groups were also formed -- one of eight women and one of eight men. The focus groups permitted in-depth discussion of issues related to condom use and were held among rural communities in Kabarole District. Kabarole District is 8,361 square kilometers with a population of 741,400 people. The majority of the population (703,400) live in the rural areas in contrast to the urban population of 38,000. The district has experienced heavy movements between the countryside and cities, especially of young people looking for jobs in the capital city of Kampala. This movement has contributed to the spread of HIV/AIDS among the rural population.

The study used an integrated model "Practice of Preventive Health Behavior" which included gender, selected demographic characteristics, and individual cognitive variables that have been used in health-related behavioral research (Becker, 1974; Janz and Becker 1984; Kirscht, 1988; Fishbein, 1967; Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975; and Bandura, 1977).

Summary of the Sample: Out of the total of 200 respondents, 50 were condom adopters and 150 were non-adopters. The sample included 53.5% females and 46.5% males. Respondents between ages 16-20 accounted for 34.5%, ages 21-29 accounted for 31.0% and ages of 30-50 accounted for 34.5% of the total sample. The mean age for respondents was 27. About 47.5% of the respondents had received some form of primary education, 24.0% had secondary education and 13.0% did not have formal education. Among the least represented were those with professional training (9.5%), high school education (5.0%), and university-level education (0.5%). Of the total sample, 77.0% could easily read and write the local language - Rutoro. Almost half of the respondents had "never married" (43.0%), 27.0% were cohabiting/living together, 15.0% were married, 10.0% were separated and 0.5% were widowed. Slightly over half of the respondents were Catholics (54.0%). Protestants formed 40.5%, Muslims formed 4.5% and the other category formed 1.0%.

Definition of Condom Adoption: Out of 50 condom adopters, 16 were females and 34 were males. A female condom adopter was a woman who at any time engaged in a sexual encounter with a man using a condom. Although condom adoption was defined as "ever used a condom," 30.0% of the condom adopters had used condoms "very often" and 52.0% had used condoms "less often" in 12 months before the study. Among condom adopters, 72.0% were "very likely" and 16.0% were "somewhat likely" to use condoms in the future. It is, therefore, justifiable to say that the majority of this group of condom adopters had used condoms in the last year and intended to use condoms in the future.

Characteristics Associated with Condom Adoption: Among the 16-20 age group, 33.3% were condom adopters. In the 21-30 age group, 32.3% were adopters, and lastly among the 31-50 age group, 10.1% were condom adopters. Among those with secondary education, 44.1% were adopters compared to those with primary education where 13.7% were adopters. Among respondents with tertiary education, 50.0% were adopters and among those without any education only 3.8% were condom adopters.

About 36.0% of the "never married", 20.0% married individuals, and 16.7% cohabiting/living together were condom adopters. The separated and divorced were less likely to have used condoms with an adoption rate of 4.8%. Religious affiliation did not make any difference; just as many Catholics (46.0%) were condom adopters as were Protestants (48.0%). In this study condom adoption was therefore associated with being young, having attained formal education, and being "never married".

Predictors of Condom Use: Multivariate analysis was conducted to determine predictors of condom use. Gender (p<.005) emerged as an important predictor of condom use, men were twice as likely as females to be condom adopters. Gender differences in condom use can be explained by power differences between men and women as men are likely to use coercive power to resist condom use, even when their partners want to use condoms. Women are at a disadvantage because they are likely not to press for condom use while they are socially and economically dependent on the man.

Education (p<.05), respondents with primary or a higher level of education were more likely to be condom adopters. This behavior can be explained by the HIV educational and condom promotion programs in secondary schools. Young people seem to have understood the message about the seriousness of HIV infection and they are adopting safer sex practices. Self-efficacy -- being able to convince a partner to use condoms -- and having positive attitudes towards condom use were predictors of condom use only in males. However, in the overall model, self-efficacy showed a significant independent relationship (p<.05) with condom adoption and emerged as the most consistent predictor of condom use. This result can be interpreted that the influence of a partner on condom use is particularly powerful in the decision to use condoms because of the nature of the condom itself. Because the condom is put on externally and is visible to both sexual partners, its use, therefore, requires the willingness and conviction of both sexual partners. Thus, conflict between sexual partners or even avoiding this interpersonal conflict regarding condom use can result in limited or non-condom use.

Voices from the Grassroots Level: The following are some of the concerns about HIV/AIDS epidemic that were expressed in the focus groups.

Female focus group: (8 women from the 200 people surveyed):

...Some men refuse to use condoms, especially those who are HIV positive. Some say "I can't die alone."

...With married couples, the husband might ask you (wife) to make love and you might say "I am tired", but he will force you to the extent of fighting. He can even rape you. Men don't listen, but once they feel they want to make love, that is it. Obwomezi bwomusaija bugumire wewe! - a man's life is complicated; once he is excited, he has to have sex. For us women -- we are powerless; whatever the man says, we will do. Otherwise he can send you out of his home.

... Couples do not talk much about condoms and/or sexual relations. Some women misunderstand the husband who want to use a condom. The individual will say that the husband cheats on her and will accuse the man of going out with bamalaya - prostitutes and coming home wanting to use a condom on her.

Male focus group (8 men from the 200 people surveyed):

..."because of lack of knowledge, some individuals wear three condoms at one time which increases the chances of condom slippage and staying inside the woman." A person may claim to know how to use a condom, when in actual fact, he does not. Someone will even carry the condom with him and when the time comes he won't use it."

... She (wife) would refuse using a condom. Eeee...! omukazi nakubingira okyali hara, aija kukugamba ati, "emyaka egitumazire hamu, kandi emyaka egi turamara hamu, weza ensahu za kondomu turamara zingaha?" She would send you away while you are still far...... She would say, "What about all the years we have spent together?" or some will say, "For all the years we will stay together - - how many sacks of condoms would we use? "

Recommendations Because behavioral change among heterosexuals in Uganda is the key to curbing the spread of HIV infection, individual characteristics and perceptions associated with condom adoption need to be encouraged in the larger society to increase the rate of condom adoption. Since the female focus group emphasized the need for women to carry condoms with them at all times, an exploratory research study could be conducted on possible attitudes towards women carrying male condoms and perceptions on the acceptability of a female condom. The use of a female condom may give women some desired control over their bodies and HIV prevention. In other parts of Africa, for example, Zimbabwe, the female condom was introduced through socialmarketing and received favorable responses.

Community-based educational seminars where men and women of the same age group can discuss sexual relationships and the epidemic as suggested by the female focus group may have a leading role in curbing the spread of HIV/AIDS infection. The community would identify their problems and suggest solutions.

Self-efficacy, defined as the individual's ability to convince a partner to use condoms, emerged as a consistent single predictor of condom use; therefore community-based educational seminars could also focus on building skills in persuading sexual partners to use condoms. This kind of social learning as a technique of re-framing community attitudes has been found to work in Kenya (Bongaarts and Cotts Witkins, 1996) -- using a multi-faceted strategy of verbal information on HIV/ AIDS risk behavior, role play, and social modeling on how to manage interpersonal situations and one's own behavior; and demonstrations of putting on and taking off condoms. This kind of program and/or research should be localized, members of the community should choose the type of language to be used, and those acting in social modeling should be from the local community itself to make the problem/situation relevant to the group.

Lastly, it is recommended that mass education programs on HIV and condom promotion activities, particulary with the sound of a drum portraying danger, need to be revived. Respondents expressed the effectiveness of the drum in instilling fear and responsibility among the youth. However, when the sound of the drum was taken off the radio program, young people became more lax in their sexual behaviors and lost focus of self and partner protection.

References

Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84, 191-215.

Becker, M. (Ed.). (1974). The health belief model and personal health behavior. Thorofare, NJ: Charles B. Slack.

Bongaarts J. and S. Cotts Watkins. (1996). Social interactions and contemporary fertility transitions. Population and Development Review, 22 (4), 639-682.

Fishbein, M. (1967). Attitude and the prediction of behavior. In C. D. (Ed.), Readings in attitude theory and measurement, 477-492. New York: John Wiley.

Fishbein, M. And I. Ajzen. (1975). Belief, attitude, intention and behavior: An introduction to theory and research. Reading, MA:Addison-Wesley.

Hollander, D. (1996). By the year 2020, AIDS will have claimed the lives of at least two million adults in Uganda. International Family Planning Perspectives, 22(2), 87-88.

Kabonesa, C. (1998). HIV/AIDS epidemic: Perceptions and responses of individuals regarding HIV infection and prevention in rural Uganda. A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Human and Community Development in the Graduate College of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Janz, N.K., and M. H. Becker. (1984). The health belief model: a decade later. In Health Education Quarterly, 11(1), 1-47.

Kirscht, J. (1988). The health belief model and predictions of health actions. In D. Gochman (Ed.), Health behavior: Emerging research perspectives (p.27-41). New York: Plenum.

Moodie R., A. Katahoire; F. Kaharuza; D. O. Balikowa, J. Busulwa, and T. Barton. (1991). An evaluation study of Uganda AIDS control program's information, education and communication activities. Draft report submitted to World Health Organization Global Program on AIDS.

Wilson, D., A. Mparadzi, and S. Lavelle. (1992). An experimental comparison of two AIDS prevention interventions among young Zimbabwean. The Journal of Social Psychology, 132(3), 415-417.

Consolata Kabonesa has a Ph.D. Degree in Human and Community Development from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. This article is drawn from her dissertation work bearing the same title.

Special Thanks to webmaster for valuable assistance with electronic layout.

Dr. Gale Summerfield has been appointed as the new Director of the Office of Women in International Development (WID) and as an associate professor in the Department of Human and Community Development in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences.

Dr. Summerfield comes to us from the Monterey Institute of International Studies, where she was an associate professor in the Graduate School of International Policy Studies. She received her BA with highest distinction, a MA degree in Chinese Studies, a MA degree in Economics, and a Ph.D. in Economics, all from the University of Michigan. She has done considerable work on women in socio- economic transitions in Asia. Dr. Summerfield has taught graduate courses entitled Women and Economic Transformation, Economic Development, the Chinese Economy in Transition, the Global Factory, and Natural Resource Economics. She has published books and articles on several topics related to WID, including Women and Economic Transition in China, Women in the Age of Economic Transformation, Women's Changing Rights to House and Land in China, Vietnam and Laos. Gale serves on the editorial board of the Review of Political Economy, is a Trustee for the Association for Social Economics, and serves as Director of the Equity Policy Center.

Founded in 1980, the Office of Women in International Development is a unit within International Programs and Studies. It encourages and facilitates the development of research, teaching, and service activities focused on the international aspects of women in development. The WID office has more than fifty faculty associates who govern the program. These faculty associates elect an executive committee, which also includes the students elected by student associates. WID offers a graduate minor in Gender Roles in International Development (G.R.I.D.). Students take their major in a range of traditional disciplines, and utilize the minor to make their research more relevant to issues of gender and development.

Dr. Summerfield and the WID program are located at 320 International Studies Building.

Please call 333-1977 or e-mail summrfld@uiuc.edu or kcmartin@uiuc.edu if you are interested in additional information.

1998-1999 WID EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS (*denotes newly elected Members):

Faculty/Staff

Nancy Benson, Communication/Journalism

John Cheeseman*, Plant Biology

Pradeep Dhillon, Educational Policy Studies

Brenda Krause Eheart, Sociology/Gov't & Public Affairs

Marianne Ferber, Economics

Lucy Kehinde, International Programs & Studies

Carolyn Pribble*, Commerce/Executive Development Center

Angharad Valdivia*, Institute of Communications Research

Student Member

Boatema Boateng, Institute of Communication Research

Virginia (Ginger) Harris*, Ag. and Consumer Economics

Ex-Officio

Jacque Kahn, Women's Studies

Beth Stafford-Vaughan, WS/WID Librarian

Office Members

Gale Summerfield, WID Director

Aida Orgocka, Research Assistant

The WID Office is co-sponsoring the Japanese War Crime symposium organized by the Asian Pacific American Coalition scheduled for October 10, 1998. The Rape of Nanking. One of the speakers, Iris Chang will bring to life events from December 1937, when the conquering Japanese army systematically raped, tortured, and murdered more than 300,000 Chinese civilians.

WID student, Aida Orgocka, presented at the American Association for Advancement of Slavic Studies National Convention, held in Florida (September 24-27, 1998) the paper: "Patterns of cultural adjustment of Albanian immigrant women to the U.S."

The WID Office is co-sponsoring a talk by ACDIS Visiting Scholar, Mr. Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, entitled "Quotas for Women: Experiments in India", on Wednesday, October 28 at noon in Room 314 International Studies Building, 910 South Fifth Street, Champaign.

Jean Treloggen Peterson died unexpectedly of heart failure on Tuesday evening, June 2, 1998 in her home in Bondville, Illinois. She was born May 13, 1942, in Oakland, California: the daughter of Walter and Fern Brack Treloggen. Survivors include a son, Samuel Peterson of Urbana, Illinois; a daughter, Katherine Peterson, of Madison, Wisconsin; her friend and former husband, Warren Peterson of the Netherlands; her mother, Fern Treloggen, of McAllen, Texas; and numerous friends.

Jean attended the University of Kansas at Lawrence as an undergraduate, later transferring to the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in English, and her Masters and Doctoral degrees in Anthropology.

She joined the faculty of the University of Illinois in 1972 and has been an Associate Professor of Family Studies since 1979. In addition to her outstanding teaching, she contributed substantially to departmental and college administration, including a year as acting head of the Department of Human Development and Family Ecology in 1979-1980. Her service extended to the campus level; she was also the director of the Women's Studies Program at UIUC from 1988 to 1991. She was a founding member of the campus-wide Office of Women in International Development in 1980 and continued as an active faculty associate in a series of international activities.

Jean's research dealt with families, households and gender roles, Her earlier work focused on the Philippines, India and Antigua.

She conducted research over a number of years with the Agta in the Philippines, one of the few surviving hunter and gatherer cultures. During the last two years her research focus had shifted back to the United States, where she had begun work on the effects of domestic violence on the work place, and the efforts of corporations to affect changes in this area. Several major corporations in

Illinois and Massachusetts were collaborating with her research.

She was active in the international women's movement, working with women in India and the Philippines on policy-relevant research. She was also an active member of the Association for Women in Development, which provides a forum for researchers, practitioners and policy makers to interact. Locally, she served on the board of A Woman's Fund from 1982 to 1992 and was President of the Board for two of those years, participating in a number of programs on issues of domestic violence.

A wonder both to work with and to watch, Jean had a life-long interest in acting and delighted in returning to that passion during the last several years, during which she performed successfully in numerous plays and was a member of the Celebration Company.

Jean sincerely and deeply cared about people and used her education, knowledge, wisdom, experience, energy and love to effect positive change in the world. A strong advocate for human rights and social justice, she was a proud progressive and political activist.

Jean Treloggen Peterson was a woman who filled many roles to overflowing: feminist, scholar, teacher, actress, mother, friend, She is gone from this world only physically, for the wide-reaching depth with which she touched so many people has left an indelible mark. She is not only survived by her family, but by all of those whose lives she touched.

Photos courtesy of Sam Peterson and Consolata Kabonesa

Congratulations to:

Beatriz Padilla, winner of the 1998 WID Annual Student Competition for the best graduate paper: Participation and New Gender Identities: A Case Study of Women from the Popular Sector in Lima Metropolitana.

Martha Vargas, winner of the 1998 WID Annual Student Competition for the best undergraduate paper: Feminism, Language and Western Ideologies about Clitoridectomy.

We are actively recruiting applicants to become Associates of the Office of Women in International Development, which serves as a center of communication and common effort for people at UIUC interested in issues of gender and development. The Office also serves as a point of outreach to national and international institutions.

The Office serves the entire University Community, but its most direct ongoing contact is with Associates. Upon application, faculty and students with interest and/or expertise on women's roles in an international context are eligible to become Associates, subject to confirmation by the WID Executive Committee. Becoming an Associate entails no obligation but offers useful information and networks of contact. For more information on becoming an Associate, contact the WID Office at (217)333 1994.

AWID's 8^th International Forum: Leading Solutions for Equality and Justice (November 11-14, 1999)

Proposals are being invited for AWID's 8^th International Forum: Leading Solutions for Equality and Justice in compliance with six sub-themes of this forum, 1. Women Transforming Development and Economics; 2. Trading Women's Human Rights; 3. Technological Changes and Choices; 4. Politics of the Global Women's Movement; 5. Women organizing and organizational transformation; 6. Leadership and the next generation. Proposals should be received in the AWID office no later than December 31, 1998, to The Association for Women in Development, Attn: 1999 Forum Proposal, 1511 K Street, NW, Suite 825, Washington, DC 20005, USA; Fax: 1-202-628-0442; e-mail: awid@awid.org.

Seventh Women's Global Leadership Institute "Challenges of the New Millennium" June 7-18, 1999 will bring together leaders who have been working on issues of women's human rights including local and national organizers, public officials, policy makers, researchers, and activists working on varying aspects of the topic. Women from all regions of the world who have taken leadership in various fields to make the abuse of female human rights visible and unacceptable are welcomed to apply. The Women's Global Leadership Institute is a two-week intensive working session of approximately 24 women representing diverse regions, cultures, and interests. Participants will spend time sharing their reflections on the fundamental feminist values that inform the movement and strengthening the skills needed to carry out the work of women's human rights. They will work on cross-cultural collaboration and plans for influencing local, national and international community approaches to these issues. They will also learn and exchange leadership skills and organizing techniques. Participants will meet with resource people from the UN, non-governmental organizations, and foundations in the USA. Applicants are encouraged to submit letters of endorsement from their organization and/or networks if their participation is on behalf of the groups. For more information or to request an application, please contact: Institute Coordinator, Center for Women's Global Leadership, Douglass College, Rutgers University, 160 Ryders Lane, New Brunswick, NJ 08901-8555, USA. Phone:(1-732)932-8782, Fax: (1-732)932-1180, E-mail: cwgl@igc.org (subject: WGLI '99). Application Deadline: January 4, 1999. Anticipated Notification of Selection: Early March 1999

Seminar on "Women in the Labour Market in Changing Economies: Demographic Issues", Rome, Italy, Second half of September 1999. This seminar is interested in different types of papers: theoretical, methodological, comparative and case studies. The geographical areas of special interest include the so-called transition economies which are going from a planned to a market economy, developing; and developed countries. Deadline for a 2-page abstract is December 15, 1998. For more infomration contact Dr. Antonella Pinnelli, Universita degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza" (E-mail: pinnelli@dsd.sta.uniroma1.it) Fax: 39-6-85-30 33 74.

25^th Annual Meetings of the Eastern Economic Association, March 12-14, 1999, Boston Park Plaza Hotel. As in past years, the International Association For Feminist Economics hopes to organize several sessions focused on gender issues in Pedagogy, Labor Markets, Policy Issues, International, Development, History of Thought, and Methodology. Four papers or panel participants are needed for each session, a chair, and some discussants. Graduate students and junior faculty are encouraged to participate. For more information contact Ulla Grapard, Department of Economics, Colgate University, Hamilton NY 13346, e-mail: upgrapard@mail.colgate.edu by January 10, 1999.

Graduate Scholarship in Reproductive Health Law at the University of Toronto, Canada. The Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto is pleased to announce the creation of a Graduate Scholarship in Reproductive Health Law, leading to the degrees of Master of Laws (LL.M.) or Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.). The scholarship is designed to permit law graduates from outside Canada who have an interest in human rights and women's health in their own countries to undertake advanced research and study in this emerging field of law. It will allow students to explore the legal and ethical issues in reproductive and sexual health, such as the multiple causes of maternal mortality; barriers to availability of and access to reproductive health services; the prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS; and abusive sexual relationships. Academic Requirements: The LL.M. is designed as a 12-month programme involving a minimum eight-hour course load. The central component of the degree is the research and writing of a thesis under supervision of a faculty member. Applicants to the LL.M. degree must hold a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degree from a recognized university, or possess equivalent qualifications, and must normally have achieved a B+ or comparable standing. Applicants whose primary language is not English and who have not completed at least one year of coursework at a post-secondary institution where the language of instruction is English must have completed one of the following tests at the time an application is submitted: Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), International English Language Testing System (IELTS) or the Michigan English Language Assessment Battery (MELAB). Deadline for application: February 01, 1999. For Inquiries and Application Forms, please contact: Graduate Admissions Office, Faculty of Law, University of Toronto, 78 Queen's Park, Toronto, Ontario Canada M5S 2C5; Phone: (416) 978-0213 / Fax: (416) 978-2648 E-mail: law.graduate@utoronto.ca; Website: http://www.law.utoronto.ca/graduate/grguide.htm

Program Assistant for USAID Office of Private and Voluntary Cooperation. AMA Technologies Inc., an information technology company, has an immediate full time opening for a program assistant for the Farmer-to-Farmer and Cooperative Development Programs of USAID's Office of Private and Voluntary Cooperation. The position is in Rosslyn, Virginia. Duties include: organizing conferences and meetings, research, writing and editing reports, tracking program activities, drafting correspondence, typing, filing, and faxing documents. The position includes administrative as well as program support and offers an excellent opportunity to gain experience with development organizations.Knowledge of word processing and spreadsheet software are required; experience with MS Office, graphics programs, and other good computer skills a plus. Salary: mid-$20,000's plus great benefits. Fax resume to 703-741-0567 or call 703-741-0560.

A New Project to "Map" the World of Women's Information is one important outcome of the Know How Conference on the World of Women's Information, a meeting of 300 women and men from 83 countries and 7 continents hosted by the International Information Centre and Archives for the Women's Movement (IIAV) in Amsterdam, The Netherlands from August 22-26, 1998. The Mapping the World project, a combination database and web site (not downloadable however) is intended to increase the visibility and accessibility of women's information services and thereby broaden their base of users. It presently consists of 160 records representing 69 countries with a long term goal of providing access to women's information centres in all countries and significant communities (such as indigenous and migrant communities). A book version of the Mapping the World database will be available in January, 1999 and will include, in addition to the directory of women's information centres, articles by women from Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Eastern Europe on women's information centres that focus on regional networking. To add information on your documentation centre to the database, to request a copy of the book, or to request a copy of the IIAV newsletter reporting on women's information initiatives from around the world, (including plans for the next international conference in three years), contact: IIAV (Mapping the World), Obiplein 4, 1094RB Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Fax: (31-20) 665-5812. E-mail: <iiav@iiav.org>. Know How web-site: http://www.iiav.nl/knowhow/index.html

Direct Access, a service of Women, Ink., gives professionals working on gender and development issues access to the latest and best materials, especially in countries where such books in this area are scarce, prohibitively expensive, or both. Developed from a pilot project initiated by Women, Ink. with UNIFEM, Direct Access allows an international agency to establish an annual account for staff running country programmes to purchase publications directly from the Women, Ink. catalogue. It can also be used to create "mini-libraries", to make available training resources for workshops, as well as to help local women's groups share and build knowledge. The service includes a free subscription to the The Tribune, IWTC's 3-times-a year newsletter, and to the IWTC Women's GlobalNet. To start a Direct Access account, write, fax, or e-mail Women, Ink. at 777 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017, USA. Phone: (1-212) 687-8633 ext. 212. Fax: (1-212) 661-2704. E-mail: <wink@womenink.org>. World Wide Web site: <http://www.womenink.org>