For years, HIV prevention has been marketed primarily to gay and bisexual men — and to a lesser extent, some transgender communities — leaving far too many cisgender women unaware that PrEP could benefit them too. It’s time to officially extend the invitation.

Words by Daniel Hirsch

When Yucca Valley’s Alyssa Delgado first learned about PrEP — AKA pre-exposure prophylaxis, a daily pill or long-lasting injectable that’s been proven to be 99.9% effective for the prevention of HIV — getting on it made perfect sense to the 36-year-old.

“It just gives you a little bit more peace of mind,” she says. “It’s what you do. You take care of yourself. You only have one life.”

However, when Delgado asked her women’s health care specialist about getting injectable PrEP Yeztugo, she was met with a blank stare. They suggested she go to DAP Health’s Orange Clinic in Palm Springs, a bastion of comprehensive, no-shame-no-stigma sexual wellness services.

Delgado’s story illustrates what’s true for many cisgender women who are straight, bisexual, lesbian, or queer and could benefit from PrEP. Even though the medication has been an essential tool for preventing new HIV infections for over a decade, many physicians are still uninformed about it or don’t bring it up with their female patients. Likewise, public health about PrEP often leaves cis women out. Delgado first learned about it on TV. None of her doctors had ever previously mentioned it.

But the fact is that HIV doesn’t discriminate. Sexual orientation, gender identity, race, or relationship status are irrelevant. Risk is shaped solely by behaviors, biology, community prevalence, and access to prevention.

Recent CDC data highlight the real impact of leaving women out of the conversation. According to the agency, women represented nearly 19% of new HIV diagnoses in 2022 but made up only 9% of PrEP users in 2024. Analysis of HIV risk by race shows Black women have much higher lifetime risks than white men, yet white men make up most PrEP users in the U.S.

Experts all agree that, given PrEP’s overwhelming effectiveness, more women becoming aware of and obtaining prescriptions for it could greatly reduce HIV’s spread.

Unique benefits for women

DAP Health Director of Specialty Programs Dr. Jason Halperin has two questions he asks every patient to determine if PrEP is right for them: “Are you sexually active?” and “How are you protecting yourself against HIV?”

“We should ask those two questions to every single patient that comes into DAP Heath, no matter their gender, gender identity, race, or body type,” Halperin says. “We have enough options that there’s no one I can think of to whom we cannot prescribe PrEP.”

If a patient is sexually active and isn’t in a totally, 100% trusting monogamous relationship with a confirmed HIV-negative partner, the longtime HIV expert recommends they get on PrEP.

For women and anyone who can become pregnant, PrEP options include daily oral pills or long-lasting injectables.

Of important note: Historically, the oral pill Descovy was not recommended for preventing HIV via vaginal intercourse, but new panel guidance has updated recommendations so that it’s approved for patients who may be unable to take Truvada.

“You can create a bubble around yourself and take total control of your sex life,” suggests DAP Health Nurse Practitioner of Sexual Wellness Anna Daymon of the Orange Clinic, who cares for Delgado. She adds that for women who rely on a partner to correctly and consistently use a condom, control over their sexual health has been in somebody else’s hands. “In taking PrEP, the power lies completely with the woman. Now, you’re taking care of yourself, keeping yourself healthy, and living your life.”

Fighting the stigma and misconceptions

Both Daymon and Halperin say many patients arrive with misconceptions and cultural baggage that create barriers to PrEP access. “I have women who come in and say, ‘Women can’t get HIV,’” Daymon reveals. “But once we get patients in here and we talk about it, they realize PrEP can be for everyone.”

Halperin often hears from patients who say they would know if a sexual partner was HIV-positive just by looking at them. He’s quick to remind them that the virus knows how to hide in the body, and that it’s typically 10 years post-infection before symptoms manifest.

He also notes that a common misconception around HIV prevention and women’s health is that a routine pap smear will detect HIV infection. To be clear, vaginal swabs only test for chlamydia and gonorrhea. Syphilis and HIV require blood draws.

“I’ve had multiple patients diagnosed with HIV who say, ‘This is impossible! I’ve been seeing my gynecologist every year,’” Halperin says. “It’s really important for women to know they have to request a full STI panel.”

These misconceptions emerge from a culture and medical system that refuse to prioritize sexual health and often stigmatizes those — especially women — who do. “Look how regulated birth control is,” Daymon offers. “If there are pockets of society that judge women as ‘promiscuous’ for being on birth control, the same label gets applied to PrEP users.”

Daymon explains to patients that getting on PrEP is a responsible, safe part of being a health-conscious adult, but shame and stigma can be hard to shake for many women. 

An often-affordable option

Some patients assume PrEP is a costly addition to their health regimen. However, DAP Health PrEP Navigation Manager Andrew Glorioso is here to say there are many reasonable means of ensuring protection. “Truvada is readily available,” he says, noting the pills are almost always covered by insurance and that uninsured patients can make use of low-cost generic versions and may even qualify for PrEP assistance programs.

Injectable forms of PrEP can be more expensive and aren’t always covered, but Glorioso says DAP Health’s navigation program exists “to look for solutions and options for individuals to access the type of PrEP they want to access.”

Newer telehealth services can also deliver PrEP directly to patients, often for free. Since 2018, the platform MISTR has been offering free, online PrEP consultation and delivery to patients across the country. In 2025, it launched a companion platform called SISTR, which specifically tailors its sexual wellness and PrEP services to women.

“HIV prevention has historically been marketed to gay men, but HIV affects many communities, and women — particularly women of color — continue to be disproportionately impacted,” says gay entrepreneur extraordinaire Tristan Schukraft, the owner of West Hollywood’s The Abbey and of boutique luxury hotel The Tryst in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. He’s also MISTR’s founder. “We created SISTR to make sure women have a platform, community, and conversation built specifically for them.”

For Delgado, who’s been on PrEP since earlier this year, that access hasn’t radically changed her life or behavior, but she will talk to anyone who’ll listen about her rightful decision to protect herself against HIV. “I’m a true believer that people should have information and education,” she says. “Ultimately, let them decide what works for them.”

If you would like to know more about DAP Health’s sexual wellness services, please click here (Sexual Wellness Services – DAP Health). For more information about PrEP, please click here (Free PrEP & PEP Services – DAP Health).