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Violence Against Women and Children Driving AIDS Pandemic
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Violence against women and children still remains one of the biggest drivers of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Researchers stressed during the International AIDS Conference (Aug. 3-8, 2008) the need to tackle violence in order to deal with HIV.
The Global AIDS Alliance (GAA) released an update on its Zero Tolerance campaign to address violence against women and violence against children that focuses on efforts to scale up effective programs in three African countries.
"One reason for women's increased vulnerability to HIV is violence," said US Congresswoman Barbara Lee. "The pandemic of violence against women and girls must end for us to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS and begin to mitigate its effects."
More than 60 percent of adults living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa are women. The report studies the areas of effect of the Zero Tolerance campaign and the obstacles it faces in reducing violence against women and children in Ghana, South Africa and Rwanda.
"Around the world, one in three women has been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused in her lifetime," said Lee. "As this report points out, women who have experience violence are as much as three times more likely to acquire HIV."
According to a Jansen report released in 2002, violent sexual assault can cause trauma to the vaginal wall that allows easier access to HIV.
"Repeatedly we get this confiscation that we don't know what needs to be done," said Dean Peacock, co-director of Sinke Gender Justice Network, South Africa. "The reality is that lots of reports have very clear evidence-based approaches that produce very real results in stopping violence."
He cites second and tertiary education, microfinance, and good work with men and boys to change their attitude as some of the options that have shown very positive results.
"The problem is not a lack of information on how to address the intersection of gender violence and HIV/AIDS, it is really a lack of political will at the level of multi-nationals, at the level of many governments."
The report highlights that the most important recommendation is that donors must increase their funding to indigenous, local , grassroots organizations that are fighting violence against women and children.
"They know the needs of their communities best," said Lee. "Civil societies can play a dual role in both implementing programs and acting as a watchdog in national governments to enforce existing procedures."
According to the report, violence in many places in sub-Saharan Africa is strongly rooted in cultural content. That is why it needs persistent local action to overcome. In many places, both men and women believe that violence in the family is acceptable. A WHO study in 2006 found that 80 percent of women in Ethiopia feel it is acceptable for a man to beat his wife for at least one reason.
The effect that violence has on increased vulnerability is complex. Studies have shown that boys who witness or experience family violence are more likely to commit rape. Nearly 50 percent of all sexual assaults are committed against girls 15 years or younger.
Fear of violence also prevents many women from negotiating safe sex. A report published in 2005 also found that fear of violence prevented women from seeking voluntary counseling and testing for HIV or going for treatment to prevent mother-to-child transmission. A WHO report published in 2006 also says that fear of violence was a barrier to HIV status disclosure for an average of 25 percent of participating women.
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Mohammed Yahia is an editor in the Health & Science section at IslamOnline.net. He has a degree in pharmacology from Cairo University, Egypt. You can contact him by sending an e-mail to ScienceTech@islam-online.net
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