Women account for nearly half of all people living with HIV worldwide and more than half in sub-Saharan Africa, due to the predominance of heterosexual transmission in that region. The feminization of the epidemic continues globally, particularly in countries where the epidemic is more recent (Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe). In Western Europe and France, this feminization appears to be stabilizing, with women accounting for 35% and 38% of new HIV infections in 2005, respectively. In France, half of these women are nationals of a sub-Saharan African country. While the intertwining of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections is now well documented, the available epidemiological data on the latter are more fragmented. Among women, the most common bacterial sexually transmitted disease is Chlamydia trachomatis infection. In France, its prevalence appears to have increased since the late 1990s, which should encourage the promotion of screening and continued vigilance regarding other sexually transmitted infections, whose resurgence has so far affected only men. (R.A.)