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November 16, 2007

The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence begins on November 25 and ends—you guessed it—16 days later on December 10. Right, smack in the middle of 16 Days is World AIDS Day on December 1, which provides a great opportunity to raise awareness about the link between gender violence and HIV/AIDS. Here are some facts to consider:

Women are disproportionately impacted by HIV/AIDS.
  • Women make up 59% of adults living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa. Three-quarters of all women with HIV/AIDS live in that region.
  • Worldwide, young women aged 15-24 are three times more likely to be infected with HIV than males their age.
  • Women are at least twice as likely to acquire HIV from men during sex as vice versa because of biological factors.

Violence against women and children is widespread.

  • One in three women around the world will be coerced into sex or physically or sexually abused in her lifetime.
  • One in five women will survive rape or attempted rape.
  • Between 20% and 50% of women indicate that their first sexual experience was forced.
  • 20% of girls and 10% of boys experience sexual abuse as a child.
  • Nearly 50% of all sexual assaults are committed against girls 15 years or younger.
  • In sub-Saharan Africa between 13% and 45% of women are assaulted by intimate partners during their lifetimes.
  • 71% of South African girls report having experienced sex against their will.
  • 60% of women whose first sexual experience was forced later experience sexual violence at the hands of an intimate partner.
  • Between 16% and 47% of African school girls report sexual abuse or harassment by male teachers or classmates.

Violence puts women and children at risk of HIV and prevents them from caring for themselves.

  • Violence against women is associated with an increased risk of acquiring sexually transmitted infections, a risk factor of HIV.
  • Violent sexual assault can cause trauma to the vaginal wall that allows easier access to HIV.
  • Fear of violence prevents women from negotiating safe sex.
  • A study in South Africa found that women who have been forced to have sex are almost six times more likely to use condoms inconsistently than those who have not been coerced.
  • Children who are sexually abused are more likely to engage in behaviors known to be risky for HIV as adults. They are also more likely to experience sexual or domestic violence.
  • Young HIV-positive women are ten times more likely to have experienced violence than HIV-negative women the same age.
  • A multi-country WHO study found that fear of violence was a barrier to HIV disclosure for an average of 25% of participating women. In some countries the proportion was as high as 86%.
  • Women who do not disclose their HIV status are unable to receive treatment or counseling, or prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT+) services.
  • Between 3% and 15% of women in sub-Saharan Africa who disclose their HIV status report negative reactions, including abandonment and violence.

Click here for GAA's complete fact sheet on violence against women and children and HIV/AIDS, as well as other fact sheets on a variety of topics.

There will be many events happening in and around Washington, DC, for World AIDS Day and 16 Days including:

Cut the Red Tape! Fight HIV/AIDS Now!

WHERE: Lafayette Square in front of the White House.
WHEN: Friday, November 30, 1:00 p.m.
WHAT: Action at the White House
WHY: The only way to stop the HIV/AIDS pandemic is to bring together local, national, and global leaders to speak with one voice.

SASA! A Film about Women, Violence and HIV/AIDS

WHEN: Tuesday, November 27, 12:30-2:00 p.m.
WHERE: Population Reference Bureau, 1875 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 520, Washington, DC
WHAT: Brown bag presentation by the Gender-Based Violence Task Force of the Interagency Gender Working Group's. Introduction and post-screening discussion with co-producer Chanda Chevannes. RSVP by November 20, 2007, to Jui Shah at jshah@path.org. Bring your lunch; soft drinks and dessert will be provided. Please note that seating is limited by the size of the room.

If you happen to live in Rochester, New Hampshire, there will be an event happening in your area. Look for more details soon. And if you're not in DC or Rochester, you may want to plan your own event using our 16 Days/World AIDS Day Activism Toolkit. Stay tuned for updates!

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November 8, 2007

Well, here it is—the Global AIDS Alliance blog. This is a project we've been trying to get off the ground for awhile, and now it's finally happening, so we hope you're as excited as we are! 

We are a nonprofit advocacy group based in Washington, DC, and our mission is to mobilize a comprehensive and compassionate response to the global AIDS crisis. (Click here to learn more about GAA's mission, goals, and successful track record.)

This blog is designed to keep you informed about what's going on here at GAA, in DC policy circles, and in the wider world. It will be primarily written by me (with contributions from GAA staff), and activists in the field can post about what they're up to and the issues that interest them.

Basically the goal is to get you talking! Tell us what you think and how you feel. Leave us your comments, thoughts, questions, and concerns. Get out there, get involved and then tell us about it!

Katie Weickel
GAA Intern

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The Invisible Cure

The following is part of the 16 Days HIV/AIDS Book Club. Please feel free to join in the discussion about this book and please refer to our 16 Days of Activism on Gender Violence Toolkit for more information and tips on how to get active.

The Invisible Cure by Helen Epstein

Some countries in Africa report that approximately one-third of their adult populations are infected with HIV. Epstein wondered how such a state of affairs came about. Seeking answers, she contracted with a biotechnical company to go to Africa and work toward discovering an AIDS vaccine. What she subsequently learned exploded some preconceived and widely shared notions about AIDS, about how African culture all but ensures its spread, and about what might be a deceptively simple answer to the complex question of how to stem that spread.

  • How does violence against women and violence against children impact the HIV/AIDS pandemic? Why do you think VAW-VAC is still so common? Do you think VAW-VAC fuels HIV/AIDS or vice versa?
  • How might poverty exacerbate violence against women and violence against children? Is the relationship between poverty and VAW-VAC similar to the relationship between poverty and what Epstein calls “diseases of inequality,” such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria?
  • The book explores the role of concurrent sexual relationships in spreading HIV/AIDS (particularly in chapter 3). Are there links between concurrent relationships and violence against women? Do you think concurrent relationships (or affairs) increase the risk of violence in any of the relationships?
  • On page 164, Epstein discusses improved attitudes about rape in Uganda. What do you think were the key factors in this change? Should this be replicated elsewhere? How can deeply engrained gender norms be changed to reduce the impact of VAW-VAC and the feminization of HIV/AIDS?
  • Discuss the role of sex as part of the economy in sub-Saharan Africa. How does transactional sex as described in the book lead to tolerance of violence against women?
  • Epstein discusses the difference between programs that focus on “high risk” groups (like prostitutes or truck drivers) and “high risk” behaviors among the general population (like transactional sex, alcohol use or violence against women). Do you think that stigma and discrimination are important considerations of the groups programs choose to work with? How do you think the concept of “high risk” impacts the spread of HIV/AIDS?

 

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