Nationally, women constitute about 8 percent of all AIDS cases since 1981. The majority are intravenous drug users (52 percent). The second common risk category is heterosexual contact (26 percent). Most women with HIV disease are poor and uneducated. Thus, women at risk of AIDS infection generally lack the economic and social power to protect themselves from the epidemic. They need prevention programs that go beyond the needs of men. Community-based programs will need to address both women's specific educational needs and their relative powerlessness. Efforts must also vary according to the type of community involved in addition, community organizing needs to be located in communities with significant populations of blacks and Hispanics. Descriptions of current community-based programs and 30 references.