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This is a report from a meeting held in Toronto August 2006. The meeting aimed to bring together people who are engaged in work on the intersections between GBV and HIV/AIDS and further discussion of some of the frameworks and entry points currently used in GBV and HIV policy, advocacy and programming. The meeting was convened by the Programme on International Health and Human Rights, Harvard School of Public Health (PIHHR) and the Centre for Women's Global Leadership at Rutgers University (CWGL). The report summarizes discussions, outcomes, and recommendations from the consultation. Participant contact information, the meeting agenda and potential ideas for moving forward are included as annexes.

This is a review of publications addressing aspects of the intersection between gender-based violence (GBV) and HIV. The literature review is organised into eight sub-sections: 1. Exploring the Linkages: General and Theoretical Examinations of the Intersection of GBV and HIV; 2. Interrogating and interpreting the associated risks of HIV/AIDS and GBV; 3. The role of men; 4. GBV and HIV testing and disclosure; 5. GBV as a risk factor for HIV; 6. HIV as a risk factor for GBV; 7. The increased susceptibility of sub-populations to the linked risks of HIV/AIDS and GBV; 8. Effective approaches for addressing the joint risk factors of GBV and HIV/AIDS. It is argued that there is a great need for more publications on grassroots work on these issues.

This issue of Network describes the variety of means by which children, adolescents, and adults - men and women alike - are pressured to have sexual relations that they do not want. Nonconsensual sex may be a major contributing factor to such reproductive health problems as unintended pregnancy and its complications, as well as HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Transmission of these infections will persist - despite common STI/HIV prevention approaches of emphasizing sexual abstinence, faithfulness in relationships, and condom use - as long as nonconsensual sex remains widespread. Reproductive health providers are often particularly well placed to detect sexual coercion and to care for its predominantly female victims.  But experts have called for more rigorous evaluation of provider interventions to determine how they affect clients' health or exposure to further violence. Some experts have also called for financial support and rigorous evaluation of prevention initiatives that address the root causes of nonconsensual sex.

Gender-based violence can result in many negative consequences for women's health and well-being as it has become a public health and human rights problem throughout the world. It can also affect their children and undermine the economic well-being of the societies. Gender-based violence and HIV/AIDS are also inextricably linked. The experience of violence affects the risk of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) directly when it interferes with women's ability to negotiate condom use. This document provides a literature review and analysis to the United States Agency for International Development's (USAID) Bureau for Global Health (GH) on programs in developing countries that have addressed or challenged gender-based violence with a link to the reproductive health (RH)/HIV sectors.

On May 1, 2002, over 130 program managers, policymakers, service providers, and trainers participated in a day-long Technical Update, hosted by the USAID Interagency Gender Working Group (IGWG) with the Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE). This summary of the Technical Update presents survey information and recent data used to define gender-based violence (GBV) and its negative impact on reproductive health outcomes. It also examines the role of organizations that work on GBV and field-based projects that address GBV through community mobilization and behavior change communication campaigns.

This report provides an assessment of the role of gender based violence in HIV transmission and the current prevalence of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in South Africa. It explains how the use of PEP can help prevent HIV infection and describes the policy the government has adopted to provide access to PEP and ARVs for all survivors of sexual violence. However, the government has not been fully implemented these initiatives, and this report provides recommendations for its success.

This report sets out to answer some of the questions put to Amnesty women victims of violence. It looks at violence against women, particularly focuses on rape committed by both security officials and private individuals. Women subjected to violence are not adequately protected by the law and commit violence against women continue to operate with impunity. Gender-based violence not only exposes women to sexually transmitted diseases, but also to the risk of acquiring HIV/AIDS. The high levels of HIV in the population mean that sexual violence against women and children carries a significant risk of transmission of the virus and of subsequent illness and death.

This report focuses on the plight of the women in Rwanda, Burundi, Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of the Congo who have contracted HIV/AIDS as a result of rape during conflict in those countries. It argues that under international human rights and humanitarian law, these women have the right to reparations for their suffering, including guaranteed access to antiretroviral drugs to fight HIV / AIDS. The first part of the report provides data, interviews, and accounts gathered in Rwanda with survivor women's associations, and recounts the sexual violence and the high level of HIV/AIDS among these surviving women and its relationship to the genocide, the hate propaganda and the underlying ethnic violence. The second part of the report is based on interviews and data gathered in DRC and Burundi. The historical poverty of Africa, the persistence of armed conflict, the transregional mobility of many armed groups, the non-compliance of peace-keeping forces with the code of conduct, their inability to protect the civilian population, and gender-based inequalities are all elements taken into account to explain the situation of women grappling with political violence and HIV/AIDS.

This article is a submission posted to the UNIFEM Gender and HIV/AIDS Web Portal and outlines key human rights dimensions relating to the intersection between violence against women and HIV/AIDS.

The 158-page book is a revision of the first edition published in 1995. While the original version focused on issues related to sexual violence like rape, the revised guidelines have been expanded to include other forms of gender-based violence like trafficking, domestic violence, female genital mutilation and demands for sexual favours in exchange for offers of services or assistance. The new publication offers practical advice on how to address the problem of sexual violence against refugee women and girls. It recommends that refugees participate centrally in the design and implementation of programmes to prevent and respond to sexual and gender-based violence. Such programmes include rights-awareness training among refugees and decision-makers in the camps. The book also offers tips on how to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of these programmes. The guidelines detail the various responses needed to help victims, including meeting the need for legal redress and providing access to medical and counseling support. These guidelines are intended for use by all humanitarian and development partners working with refugees and other displaced populations.

This bibliographic review on gender-based violence and HIV/AIDS is a companion document to a Literature Review under the same title. It includes an extensive electronic search of international and national electronic databases to identify relevant research published in journals and books, as well as ‘grey’ literature – much of which is not documented on the standard electronic search engines and published databases of HIV/AIDS literature. The bibliography is organized thematically and also includes some abstracts. The review is supplemented by the availability of this bibliography in a searchable database on the Cadre website at www.cadre.org.za.

This Literature Review looks at the linkages between HIV/AIDS and gender-based violence by setting out an initial conceptual and methodological base. It provides explanations for the incidence and the contexts of gender-based violence and HIV/AIDS by listing indicators and predictors, and by outlining psychosocial, behavioural and contextual factors. Human rights considerations provide the framework for the suggested transformative interventions. Related reviews include a review of organizations working in the field of gender-based violence and HIV/AIDS as well as a full, bibliographic review.

This report provides insight into organizational experiences and perspectives in terms of the obstacles encountered and approaches used to address the intersections between HIV/AIDS and gender-based violence. It can be used to facilitate the formulation of thinking on gender-based violence and HIV/AIDS, and assist in shaping programmatic interventions. This review is a companion document to a series of reviews of gender-based violence and HIV/AIDS in South Africa.

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An important component of HIV voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) programs is encouraging clients to inform partners of their serostatus. Yet many clients do not disclose results to partners. Studies have found that a serious barrier to disclosure of status for women is fear of a violent reaction by male partners. Also, HIV-infected women are at an increased risk for partner violence. Building on previous research, this study explored the links between HIV infection, serostatus disclosure, and partner violence among women attending the Muhimbili Health Information Center, a VCT clinic in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Key findings reveal that many women lack autonomy to make decisions about HIV testing and that HIV status is strongly associated with partner violence.

This preliminary overview of available literature suggests that within the context of gender and the HIV epidemic, sexual violence is a complex phenomenon with multiple determinants, consequences and manifestations. UNAIDS estimated that by December 1997, 30.6 million people around the world had been infected with HIV, with more than 70% of these infections occurring through unprotected sexual intercourse. The overall proportion of these infections that are attributable, directly or indirectly, to sexual violence is unknown. Nonetheless, existing evidence on gender and sexual inequality and available information on the nature and scale of sexual violence (particularly against women and girls), suggests that it is likely to be significant.

These reports illustrate how two of South Africa's epidemics - violence against women, and HIV/AIDS - may be converging in new and lethal ways. This report documents findings regarding violence and HIV/AIDS and argues that, to date, rape-related concerns have driven policy and legislative responses to a far greater degree than concerns about other forms of violence against women. The authors conclude that until more research and information becomes available, developing comprehensive responses aimed at addressing the links between all forms of violence against women and HIV/AIDS will remain difficult.