Strategies and actions for ending violence against women and reducing HIV and AIDS infection
Violence, vengeance and gender: a preliminary investigation into the links between violence against women and HIV/AIDS in South Africa
Links between different aspects of violence against women and the spread of HIV/AIDS
Authors:
Publisher:
Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, South Africa, 2001
This report from the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR) details recent research into the activities of civil society bodies and government departments focusing on the links between violence against women (VAW) and HIV/AIDS in South Africa. The report finds that many institutions and organisations are contributing towards women’s vulnerability by failing to take into account the personal and social factors that put women at greater risk of HIV infection. Most government and NGO responses to HIV/AIDS and VAW have been shaped and driven by concerns about rape, excluding other forms of violence against women, and work on the two issues has not been sufficiently integrated. In addition, the circumstances of women in abusive relationships have yet to feature on the policy, programme and legislation agenda.
The authors make a range of recommendations on how current gaps could be addressed. These include: developing a shared understanding of violence, integrating work around VAW and HIV/AIDS, making shelters for abused women accessible to those who are HIV positive, resolving controversies surrounding HIV PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis), and developing microbicides. Further recommendations cover the criminal justice system and HIV-positive women, VCT (voluntary counselling and testing) and violence, creating information and education messages for men and women, and future areas for research.
