Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
GREENLAND
U.S.
(Alaska)
60
°
CANADA
40
°
40
°
UNITED STATES
ATLANTIC
BERMUDA
OCEAN
BAHAMAS
CUBA
MEXICO
Tropic of Cancer
DOMINICAN
REPUBLIC
PUERTO
RICO
20
°
20
°
20
°
JAMAICA
BELIZE
U.S.
(Hawai'i)
HAITI
HONDURAS
NICARAGUA
GUATEMALA
BARBADOS
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO
EL SALVADOR
PACIFIC
COSTA RICA
PANAMA
VENEZUELA
COLOMBIA
SURINAME
FRENCH GUIANA
GUYANA
Equator
0
°
ECUADOR
OCEAN
PERU
BRAZIL
GENDER EMPOWERMENT
MEASURE (GEM)
BOLIVIA
20
°
20
°
20
°
20
PARAGUAY
Tropic of Capricorn
Above .76
ARGENTINA
.51-.75
CHILE
URUGUAY
.26-.50
40
°
40
°
40
°
40
°
Below .25
Data not available
160
°
140
°
120
°
80
°
60
°
40
°
60
°
60
°
60
°
60
°
SOUTHERN
OCEAN
0
1000
2000
3000 Kilometers
0
1000
2000 Miles
Figure 5.15
Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM) by Country.
The GEM value is derived from
a number of statistics measuring women's access to political and economic decision making.
Data from
: United Nations Development Program, Human Development Report 2007-2008.
HIV/AIDS is much more prevalent among homosexual and
bisexual men than among heterosexual men and women. In
Subsaharan Africa, women have much higher rates of HIV/
AIDS than men. As Oppong explains, “AIDS as a global
problem has unique local expressions that refl ect the spatial
distribution and social networks of vulnerable social groups.”
According to Oppong, in most of Subsaharan Africa,
HIV/AIDS rates are highest for women in urban areas and
for women who work as sex workers. However, in Ghana,
HIV/AIDS rates were lower for women in the urban area of
Accra. Oppong postulates that women in Accra have lower
HIV/AIDS rates because they have greater access to health
care than women in rural areas. Women in rural areas who
were not treated for malaria had higher incidences of HIV/
AIDS, according to his research. Oppong also found that
women in polygamous relationships in the Muslim part
of northern Ghana had lower HIV/AIDS rates. Oppong
offers two theories to explain why women Muslims in
polygamous relationships had lower HIV/AIDS rates: fi rst,
as a matter of cultural practice, most Muslims tend to avoid
sexual promiscuity, and second, Muslims in Ghana practice
circumcision, which helps lower the rate of HIV/AIDS
transmission in that part of the country.
Fieldwork helps geographers apply vulnerabil-
ity theory to understand how existing spatial structures,
power relationships, and social networks affect the sus-
ceptibility of people to diseases and and other hazards
around the world.
