Stop the Violence
Did you know?
As women and children are increasingly affected by and infected with HIV and AIDS, the urgency of creating gender equity becomes more and more apparent. One of the greatest impacts of ongoing societal and political oppression of women and children, always the lowest rung on the social ladder, is the shocking prevalence of violence against women and violence against children (VAW/C).
Worldwide, one in three women will survive physical, sexual or emotional abuse in her lifetime. One in five will survive rape or attempted rape, and around 50% of female sexual assault survivors are 15 years or younger at the time of their attack. In addition, 10% of boys worldwide are sexually abused before they turn 18. In some countries, up to 50% of school children report having been physically or sexually abused while at school. For more detail on the prevalence of VAW/C, take a look at our fact sheet.
Violence against women and violence against children is a public health and human rights crisis of epidemic proportions. Not only that, but VAW/C fuels the HIV/AIDS pandemic, both by hindering prevention efforts, including access to education, and by creating barriers to counseling, testing and treatment services.
Studies show that women who have experienced violence may be up to three times more likely to acquire HIV than women who have not. In part, this is due to the clear risks of unprotected sexual assault, as well as to physical trauma that can facilitate access of the virus (and women are already up to three times more likely to acquire HIV simply for biological reasons). But violence also leads to psychological trauma. This trauma can result in women and adolescents making risky choices, including irregular use of condoms and more frequent use of drugs and alcohol. Similarly, women living with HIV have more lifetime experience of violence than women who are HIV negative. This is in part because they may have experienced violence before or while acquiring HIV, but it also highlights that some violence results from HIV stigma. Stigma can force women to avoid HIV testing and treatment out of fear for their own and their children's safety. This turns a chronic illness into a death sentence.
What needs to be done?
Despite the fact that VAW/C is a result of deeply engrained social norms and political structures that opt to look the other way, there are many successful programs that have reduced levels of VAW/C and provided care for survivors, helping to reduce consequences like HIV and to break the cycle of violence. These programs are currently being supported only at minimal, fragmented levels by donor governments and multilateral organizations, and information about their structure, impact and cost is scarce.
Promising programs must urgently be fully funded, scaled-up, and integrated with national multisectoral efforts to reduce and respond to VAW/C. For example, the IMAGE Study in South Africa demonstrated that microfinance programs that combine HIV/AIDS, gender equity and intimate partner violence messages can significantly lessen violence among participants while simultaneously increasing economic independence. Also in South Africa, the Stepping Stones program, an HIV education curriculum, has reduced prevalence of sexually transmitted infections and violent behaviors among male participants. We know good models are out there, and we know they are having an important impact. The urgent challenge is to secure commitment—both political and financial—to establishing a culture of zero tolerance for VAW/C and for supporting all survivors of violence.
What is the Global AIDS Alliance doing?
The Global AIDS Alliance is working to secure political and financial support for a comprehensive, multisectoral response to VAW/C at the international and national levels. A comprehensive response must include seven pillars of activity:
- Political commitment and resource mobilization;
- Legal and judicial reform;
- Health sector reform;
- Education sector reform;
- Community mobilization for zero tolerance;
- Mass marketing for social change; and
- Interrupting the cycle of violence.
GAA is working with international- and national-level stakeholders to ensure that appropriate reforms are urgently instituted—and fully funded. For example, GAA serves as a watchdog organization of the violence-related work conducted by the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). In this role we call for increased PEPFAR funding to be dedicated to these programs and for greatly increased transparency and reporting so that the impact of violence programs can be accurately assessed. In addition, GAA is working with the Education for All–Fast Track Initiative to increase its attention to safe schools as part of our universal basic education agenda. GAA is also working to increase the number of proposals to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria that integrate important factors such as VAW/C into HIV/AIDS programs.
Violence against women and violence against children is an affront to human dignity and, around the world, political leaders are stepping up their commitment to survivors of violence and those who work to support them on the ground. Without an urgent, comprehensive response to VAW/C, we cannot hope to meet universal access goals for HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment by 2015, and our multibillion dollar effort to fight AIDS will surely fail.
Where can I learn more?At the bottom of this page, you will find recent materials related to violence against women and children, including action alerts, news, and reports. In addition, GAA is working with a broad array of advocacy partners to help mobilize a comprehensive response to violence and address its links to HIV/AIDS. Many of these groups offer additional information about issues related to VAW/C, including the following:
Amnesty International
ATHENA
Center for Health and Gender Equity
Center for Women's Global Leadership
Family Violence Prevention Fund
Global Coalition on Women and AIDS
Recent Action Alerts
Tell the Presidential Candidates We Need Bold Action on AIDS Now!Recent News
Facing Up to Violence Against Women Stopping Violence Against Women in Africa Deadly Intersection of HIV and Violence Against Women and ChildrenRecent Press Releases
Candidates for US President Must Have a Plan to Defeat HIV/AIDS South African AIDS Activist Visits USRecent Reports and Other Materials
Violence Prevention in Low- and Middle-Income CountriesSafe Schools: Every Girl’s Right
Hidden in the Mealie Meal: Gender-Based Abuses and Women’s HIV Treatment in Zambia