Karla Ayala, Office Administrator, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health
As a young Latina who has had to face the realities and consequences of Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), I have been fortunate enough to be able to educate myself on the facts and to educate others through my work as a peer educator. While I have been lucky enough to possibly have changed someone’s life by providing them with this information, I always ask myself about the countless others left in the dark, especially those left behind due to a lack of communication as a result of a language barrier.
When my mom was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 1999, she had no idea what it was or how she developed it. Even scarier, 8 years later, she is just learning about HPV. You’d think some medical professional would have discussed this with her at some point, whether it was at the first sign of an abnormal Pap smear or sometime before her hysterectomy. But sadly, this wasn’t the case. My mother speaks primarily Spanish, and not only was an interpreter rarely provided for her, but when one was, they clearly did not take the time to discuss everything in depth.
My mother is not alone. At a recent workshop I hosted on HPV among young deaf women of color in NYC, more than half the women in the room had no idea what HPV was. Although they’d seen ads for the vaccine, they knew relatively little about it. Some thought HPV was actually herpes and most had no idea how prevalent it was among sexually active people. Clearly the message was not getting across to this group of women.
The media can infuse us with a million ads about HPV vaccines. But until health care providers and educators begin discussing HPV with women consistently, and start taking the time to break through to communities already at a disadvantage due to language barriers, HPV and cervical cancer will not simply disappear. Not speaking English, or not having access to comprehensive sexuality education should not automatically qualify you for a death sentence because no one took the time to reach out.
This fall, the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health will launch its CuÃdate, Ã?rmate, Edúcate: Latinas for Cervical Cancer Prevention campaign to continue the dialogue in the Latino community. For more information, visit www.latinainstitute.org.
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I knew that Spanish-speaking people (and people who speak other languages as well) were at a disadvantage when it comes to getting health information. The atmosphere in America right now seems to be, "Speak English or get the fuck out." But I had no clue that deaf people had the same issues. That is absolutely inexcusable. Everyone needs to know about this stuff, no matter whether they speak Spanish or American Sign Language.
"The atmosphere in America right now seems to be, 'Speak English or get the fuck out.'"
That or at least "learn English *then* learn other stuff."
Once I met a guy complaining about how some American kids in bilingual ed take Spanish-language American history classes too (instead of becoming fluent in English then taking English-language American history classes). WTF? Complaining about that is as ridiculous as complaining about kids taking science classes before they've mastered calculus!
Interesting that there is so litle information for the deaf. I know that 98% of what I have learned about HPV has come from the internet- exclusing those "One Less" commericals where the girls double dutch jump rope and a friend of mine getting the shot. Are these deaf WOC also having English (written) language barriers, or is it because their doctors aren't really talking to them about it?
I also wonder how many people with no language barriers really understand the HPV problem, when there is so much mythinformation from the Religious Right being spread.