UN says violence against women linked to HIV/AIDS

The UN has called for intensified efforts to help women “living in the shadow of violence and AIDS”. A report by UNAIDS entitled “HIV/AIDS and violence against women” says domestic violence, rape and other forms of sexual abuse are gross violations of human rights but are also linked to the spread of HIV. Many women and girls are also victims of sexual coercion by male relatives, classmates or neighbours. In Africa, schoolgirls often resort to sex with “sugar daddies” to help pay education fees, the report says. “Coercion can take the form of wanton rape,” it adds. In South Africa, for example, roving gangs of young men, many infected with HIV, engage in what they call “catch and rape”. Rape has also become a deliberate weapon of war in many conflicts, such as in Central Africa.

The report says in order to survive in a world with AIDS, it is necessary to protect the sexual and reproductive rights of women. While the International Criminal Court now recognises rape and other forms of violence against women as a crime against humanity in times of war, governments urgently need to enforce national laws that criminalise gender violence and abuse. Current resources for HIV prevention are grossly inadequate. The report notes that in 1997, only US $160 million were spent on AIDS prevention in sub-Saharan Africa. “This is completely inadequate to halt the epidemic, let alone help change attitudes among men with regard to prevention, non-violence and women’s rights,” it says.