Are You At Risk?

Are you at risk of contracting HIV?

• Do you (or have you ever) have unprotected sexual intercourse (vaginal, anal or oral)?
• Do you (or have you ever) share needles or equipment for injecting drugs?
• Do you (or have you ever) use unsterilized needles for tattooing, skin piercing or acupuncture?
• Do you experience (or have you ever experienced) occupational exposure to HIV in a health care setting?

If you have answered "yes" to any of these questions, you may be at risk of contracting HIV.

HIV/AIDS can affect anyone in society, regardless of their age, gender, sexual orientation or socio-economic status. However, stigma, discrimination, and violation of human rights make socially and economically marginalized groups and populations even more vulnerable to infection.

The Government of Canada, through the Federal Initiative to Address HIV/AIDS in Canada, is committed to developing discrete approaches to addressing the epidemic for eight specific target populations:

• Gay men
• Injecting drug users
• Aboriginal Peoples
• Prison Inmates
• Youth at risk
• Women at risk
• People from countries where HIV is endemic
• People living with HIV

The population‑specific approach results in evidence‑based, culturally appropriate responses that are better able to address the realities, which contribute to infection and poor health outcomes for the target populations.

• Gay men . Gay men and homosexually active men continue to be the group most affected by HIV/AIDS in Canada, accounting for an estimated 45 per cent of all new HIV infections in 2005 and 51 per cent of all persons living with HIV/AIDS in Canada. The combined Men who have sex with men (MSM)/injection drug users exposure category accounted for a further 3 per cent of estimated new infections in 2005 and 4 per cent of persons living with HIV/AIDS. Recent data on risk behaviours suggest that men who have sex with men continue to be at considerable risk of HIV infection and other STIs. >> more

• Injection drug users . In 2005, injection drug users were estimated to account for 17 per cent of all known HIV infections in Canada and for 14 per cent of the estimated new infections in that year. Although the proportion of new infections among injection drug users has decreased from an estimated 19 per cent of all new infections in 2002, these numbers remain unacceptably high. Injection drug users are at risk of acquiring HIV and other blood-borne infections, such as hepatitis C, through contaminated needles and unsafe sex practices. >> more

• Aboriginal Peoples . Aboriginal peoples are over-represented in the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Canada. First Nations, Inuit and Métis people represent only 3.3 per cent of the Canadian population but account for an estimated 7.5 per cent of all people living with HIV/AIDS in Canada. Injection drug use is a key risk factor for this group. Women accounted for 47.3 per cent of all positive HIV test reports among Aboriginal peoples between 1998 and June 30, 2004, compared with 20.5 per cent among non-Aboriginal peoples. Aboriginal peoples are also being infected with HIV at a younger age than non-Aboriginal peoples.>> more

• Prison inmates . HIV infection rates are estimated to be nearly 10 times higher among federal and provincial inmates in Canada than in the general population. Higher rates of infection among inmate populations are often the result of offenders' histories of participating in high-risk behaviours, such as injection drug use and unprotected sex, behaviours which some offenders continue to engage in while incarcerated. Recent evidence indicates that HIV infection rates are more than twice as high among female inmates than male inmates. >> more

• Youth at Risk . Although people aged 10 to 24 years currently represent a small proportion of the total number of reported HIV and AIDS cases in Canada, risk behaviour data on young Canadians show significant potential for HIV transmission. The Canadian Youth, Sexual Health and HIV/AIDS Study , for example, revealed that the use of condoms by sexually active youth decreases as their age increases. The extent of unprotected sexual activity among youth is reflected in high rates of certain sexually transmitted infections among those aged 15 to 24 years. Street-involved youth, youth who inject drugs and young men who have sex with men are particularly vulnerable to HIV. >> more

• Women at Risk . The HIV/AIDS epidemic is growing among women of all age groups in Canada. At the end of 2005, there were an estimated 11,800 women living with HIV in Canada, a 23 per cent increase over 2002 estimates. Women accounted for 27 per cent of estimated new infections in 2005. Surveillance data indicate that heterosexual contact and injection drug use are the two major risk factors for HIV infection in women. >> more

• People from countries where HIV is endemic . As is the case with Aboriginal peoples and prison inmates, persons from countries where HIV is endemic (mainly countries of sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean) are over-represented in Canada's HIV epidemic. In 2001, approximately 1.5 per cent of the Canadian population was born in a country where HIV is endemic, yet this group accounted for an estimated 12 per cent of known HIV infections and 16 per cent of all new infections in 2005. >> more

• People living with HIV . About 58,000 people in Canada were believed to be living with HIV infection at the end of 2005. This represents a 16 per cent increase from the estimate of 50,000 infected individuals at the end of 2002. There were an estimated 2,300 to 4,500 new HIV infections in Canada in 2005, compared with an estimate of 2,100 to 4,000 in 2002. An estimated 15,800 HIV-infected people in Canada - 27 per cent of the total - are believed to be unaware of their infection. >> more