Transcript Gender based violence and HIV/AIDS

HIV/AIDS:
Another expression of
gender based violence
Addressing the problem
Taking Action
Women
and HIV/AIDS
The proportion of HIV-positive
women has significantly
increased, and this process is
most visible in countries where
the virus spreads mainly through
heterosexual intercourse, as is
the case in Central America and
the Caribbean.
Gender Based Violence and HIV/AIDS Fact Sheet. PAHO. 2005
•In 1997 women constituted 41% of
HIV positive people, in 2002 this
number had risen to almost 50% [1].
•By the end of 1999, women
constituted 25% and 30% of HIV
positive adults in Latin America and
the Caribbean, respectively.
Currently, these percentages have
increased to 30% and 50% [2].
[1] UNAIDS World Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic. UNAIDS/WHO. 2004.
[2] Resumen mundial de la epidema del VIH/SIDA. UNAIDS/WHO. 2001.
In the Caribbean,
approximately 3,000 children
are born annually to HIV
positive mothers. As the
number of HIV-infected
women increases, so does the
number of infected children.
Bilali, C. Eighteen Years of the HIV/AIDS Epidemic in the
Caribbean: A Summary. CARE Presentation.
Young women are the
most affected group in
the world: They
represent 67 % of all
new cases of HIV
among people aged 15
to 24 in developing
countries.
State of the World Population. United Nations Population Fund. 2005
Violence against women
is a major human rights
and public health
problem world wide
...it increases female
vulnerability to HIV.
Global Coalition on Women and AIDS
Backgrounder.
Gender based
violence is both a
cause and a
consequence of
HIV/AIDS, and vice
versa
1. Gender based violence
increases a woman’s risk
of being infected with
HIV.
2. Women face different
forms of violence once
they test positive for HIV.
1 Gender based
violence and the
increased risk
of HIV infection
among women
Many overlapping factors put
women at greater risk of
contracting HIV/AIDS.
These include:
Biological factors
Economic factors
Cultural factors
Biological factors
Women are physiologically 2 to 4
times more susceptible to HIV.
 Semen carries more HIV than
vaginal secretions.
 Women have a larger mucosal
surface where lesions can occur,
facilitating infection.

Gender and HIV/AIDS. PAHO. 2005
Biological factors
 When
sex is forced, risk of infection
increases from bleeding and tearing.
 Vaginal membranes remain exposed
to infectious fluids for hours after sex.
 STIs often go undetected and
untreated in women, increasing a
woman’s vulnerability to HIV.
Violence against Women, HIV and Microbicides. Global Campaign for Microbicides. Fact Sheet #10
Economic factors
Women often lack access to fairwage jobs, have minimal
education and work experience,
and are deprived of property
rights. This makes them
economically dependent on their
partners, and thus more
vulnerable to abuse.
Violence against Women, HIV and Microbicides. Global Campaign for Microbicides. Fact Sheet #10
Economic factors
The power imbalance created by
economic dependency and
violence can leave women
unable to negotiate condom use
or to leave the partners that put
them at risk of HIV infection.
Violence against Women, HIV and Microbicides. Global Campaign for Microbicides. Fact Sheet #10
Economic factors
Poverty forces many women into
subsistence sex work,
transactional relationships or
situations of human trafficking
that make it difficult or impossible
to negotiate condom use.
State of the World Population. United Nations Population Fund. 2005
Cultural factors

In many cultures, male dominance is
demonstrated and maintained
through sexual coercion or violence.

The sexual exploitation of women
and girls is one of the most extended
forms of gender violence and an
ongoing factor in the spread of
HIV/AIDS.
Gender Based Violence and HIV/AIDS, Gender and HIV/AIDS. Fact Sheets PAHO. 2005
Cultural factors
Girls and women are often taught
to regard their bodies as property
of men.
 Women are often powerless and
face threats of violence, and
therefore experience little or no
control over when and how sex
happens in their lives.

Violence against Women, HIV and Microbicides. Global Campaign for Microbicides. Fact Sheet #10
Cultural factors
Women and girls often lack
negotiating power and
social support for insisting
on safer sex or rejecting
sexual advances.
State of the World Population. United Nations Population Fund. 2005
Cultural factors
Many societies expect
women to be faithful even
when men are not. A
woman’s partner puts her at
higher risk of HIV when he
has multiple sex partners.
Violence against Women, HIV and Microbicides. Global Campaign for Microbicides. Fact Sheet #10
Among HIV-positive
women, many are married
and have had only one
partner—
their husband
State of the World Population. United Nations Population Fund. 2005
Cultural factors
Women who are exposed to
childhood sexual abuse are
more likely to engage in HIVrelated risk behaviors such
as early sex, more partners
and drug and alcohol use.
Violence against Women and HIV/AIDS. Information Sheet. Global Coalition on Women and AIDS
In Nicaragua, one study found that
women who were sexually abused
in their childhood and adolescent
years made their sexual debut more
than two years earlier, and reported
a higher number of sexual partners
than those who had experienced
moderate or no sexual abuse.
Olson, A, Ellsberg M, Berglund S et al. “Sexual abuse during childhood and adolescence among Nicaraguan men and
women: A population based anonymous survey” Child Abuse & Neglect. 24 (12): 1579-1589
2 Violence as a
consequence
of being HIV
positive
A woman
disclosing her
HIV status may
be put at risk of
violence or
abandonment.
Violence Against Women and HIV/AIDS: Setting the Research Agenda. Meeting
Report, Geneva, 23-25 October 2000
Violence or fear of
violence has been
implicated as a barrier
for women:
• In seeking HIV testing and
treament.
• In disclosing their HIV
positive status.
Intimate Partner Violence and HIV/AIDS. The Global Coalition on Women and AIDS.
Information Bulletin Series, Number 1.
HIV positive women
face increased
discrimination and
violence as a result of
their status.
These acts of discrimination and
violence can include:






Ridicule, insults and harassment
Physical assault
Being forced to change residence
Exclusion from social events
Exclusion from family members
Loss of financial support from their
families
Cited in Amnesty International. Women, HIV/AIDS and Human Rights. 2004
Recommendations
for Action
Legal Reform
Laws must be reformed to protect women’s
equal rights, especially in the areas of:
Domestic violence and spousal rape
Sexual Violence
Marriage and divorce
Land and property rights
Access to social services
Recommendations adapted from Human Rights Watch, “A Dose of Reality”, 2004
Programmatic Reform
Programs designed to address woman’s rights
violations and improve enforcement of women’s
rights must continue to be implemented, including:
HIV/AIDS programs that combat
discrimination and violence against women
Training for judges, police and other officials
on women’s rights
Improved data collection on violence against
women and sexual abuse of girls
Systems for protecting confidential HIV test
results and other patient information

Public Education
Public education campaigns on women’s
rights that disseminate information in local
languages about:
Domestic violence and spousal rape
Sexual Violence
Marriage and divorce
Prevention of STIs and HIV/AIDS
HIV/AIDS testing and treatment

Donors and International
Organizations
Donor organizations should support
NGO and government initiatives to
support women’s rights.
They are also well positioned to use
their political influence to encourage
governments to implement laws and
policies that protect women’s rights.
The disproportionate impact
of AIDS on women and girls
is no accident.
It is the direct result of
the pervasive and
ongoing abuses of their
human rights
Human Rights Watch, “A Dose of Reality”, 2004