Activists lament AIDS and rights abuses on International Women's Day

The rising number of women living with HIV/AIDS globally is directly related to the abuse of women's rights, South African activists said on Wednesday as International Women's Day was commemorated.

People Opposing Women Abuse (POWA) - a Johannesburg-based NGO supporting women who experience domestic violence, sexual harassment and rape - said many violations that increased the susceptibility of women to HIV infection still occurred.

"In addition to a biological make-up which leaves women and young girls more prone to HIV infection than men, continued discrimination and lack of access to rights also exacerbate the situation," POWA's public awareness manager, Carrie Shelver, told PlusNews.

Noting that most young women experienced their first sexual encounter as the result of sexual violence or coercion, Shelver said women were very often left with little room for negotiating safe sex.

A study in 2004 by Mexico's Centro de Investigacion de Enfermedades Tropicales (Centre for the investigation of tropical diseases) said 58 percent of respondents felt that "sexual violence does not include forcing sex with someone you know", while another 30 percent said "girls do not have a right to refuse sex with their boyfriend".

"Much of the time these ... sexual assaults will go unreported because of the stigma that still prevails. As a result, these women might also miss that window of opportunity to access medical care," said Shelver.

In April 2002 the South African government pledged to provide a course of drugs known as post-exposure prophylaxis, or PEP, as part of a comprehensive package of services for rape survivors.

However, in order to get PEP - which reduces the risk of contracting HIV if administered soon after the assault - a woman has to report the crime to the police, and usually shies away for fear of discrimination.

In a 2004 report, titled 'Deadly Delay: South Africa's Efforts to Prevent HIV in Survivors of Sexual Violence', Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the AIDS pandemic had turned sexual assault into a possible death sentence for most survivors.

While South Africa recognised the importance of HIV prevention for rape survivors, HRW noted that "there is a deadly disconnect" between the government's intention to provide PEP, and the reality for rape survivors, who could not access it.

Factors like poor police response to rape cases, or rape survivors even being turned away, had further impeded access to PEP.

"It also comes down to how society perceives the role of men, as opposed to the role of women," Shelver noted. "Men can do well to change these perceptions, and the violation of women's rights, by redefining their role as the dominant partner."