In Their Own Voices

This study qualitatively examines the intersections of risk for intimate partner violence (IPV) and HIV infection in South Africa. Eighteen women seeking services for relationship violence were asked semistructured questions regarding their abusive experiences and HIV risk. Participants had experienced myriad forms of abuse, which reinforced each other to create a climate that sustained abuse and multiplied HIV risk. Male partners having multiple concurrent sexual relationships, and poor relationship communication compounded female vulnerability to HIV and abuse. A social environment of silence, male power, and economic constraints enabled abuse to continue. “Breaking the silence” and women's empowerment were suggested solutions.

[1]  Dallan F. Flake.  Individual, Family, and Community Risk Markers for Domestic Violence in Peru , 2005, Violence against women.

[2]  D. Worth,et al.  Sexual decision-making and AIDS: why condom promotion among vulnerable women is likely to fail. , 1989, Studies in family planning.

[3]  R. Jewkes,et al.  PREVALENCE OF EMOTIONAL , PHYSICAL AND SEXUAL ABUSE OF WOMEN IN THREE SOUTH AFRICAN PROVINCES , 2022 .

[4]  Karim,et al.  Barriers to preventing human immunodeficiency virus in women: experiences from KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. , 2001, Journal of the American Medical Women's Association.

[5]  E. Schrimshaw,et al.  Coping with Negative Emotions: The Cognitive Strategies of HIV-infected Gay/Bisexual Men , 2000, Journal of health psychology.

[6]  L. Gilbert,et al.  Treading the path of least resistance: HIV/AIDS and social inequalities a South African case study. , 2002, Social science & medicine.

[7]  J. de Pina-Cabral,et al.  World , 2004, Science.

[8]  R. Jewkes,et al.  Violence, rape, and sexual coercion: everyday love in a South African township. , 1997, Gender and development.

[9]  R. Jewkes,et al.  "He forced me to love him": putting violence on adolescent sexual health agendas. , 1998, Social science & medicine.

[10]  L. Gilbert,et al.  Urban violence and health--South Africa 1995. , 1996, Social science & medicine.

[11]  Charlotte Watts,et al.  Violence against women: global scope and magnitude , 2002, The Lancet.

[12]  L. Heise,et al.  Transforming aids prevention to meet women's needs: a focus on developing countries. , 1995, Social science & medicine.

[13]  I. Shah,et al.  Condom use within marriage: a neglected HIV intervention. , 2004, Bulletin of the World Health Organization.

[14]  E. Krug,et al.  The world report on violence and health , 2002, The Lancet.

[15]  B. Nowrojee,et al.  Violence against Women in South Africa: State Response to Domestic Violence and Rape , 1995 .

[16]  G. Gupta,et al.  Women's lives and sex: Implications for AIDS prevention , 1993, Culture, medicine and psychiatry.

[17]  J. Fontdevila,et al.  Deconstructing the Relationship Between Intimate Partner Violence and Sexual HIV Risk Among Drug-Involved Men and Their Female Partners , 2004, AIDS and Behavior.

[18]  R. Jewkes,et al.  Gender-based violence, relationship power, and risk of HIV infection in women attending antenatal clinics in South Africa , 2004, The Lancet.

[19]  I. Rivkin,et al.  The Efficacy of an Integrated Risk Reduction Intervention for HIV-Positive Women With Child Sexual Abuse Histories , 2004, AIDS and Behavior.

[20]  R. Jewkes.  Preventing sexual violence: a rights-based approach , 2002, The Lancet.

[21]  P. Farmer.  Pathologies of Power , 2019 .

[22]  M. Ellsberg,et al.  A global overview of gender‐based violence , 2002, International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics.

[23]  N. Abrahams,et al.  The epidemiology of rape and sexual coercion in South Africa: an overview. , 2002, Social science & medicine.

[24]  R. Jewkes,et al.  Relationship dynamics and teenage pregnancy in South Africa. , 2001, Social science & medicine.

[25]  L. Slatt,et al.  Sexually Transmitted Infections and Increased Risk of Co-infection with Human Immunodeficiency Virus , 2004, The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association.

[26]  P. Maharaj,et al.  Condom use within marital and cohabiting partnerships in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. , 2004, Studies in family planning.

[27]  T. Nelson.  Violence against women. , 1996, World watch.

[28]  Diana D. Woolis,et al.  The Violent Matrix: A Study of Structural, Interpersonal, and Intrapersonal Violence Among a Sample of Poor Women , 2003, American journal of community psychology.

[29]  C. Obermeyer.  Reframing research on sexual behavior and HIV. , 2005, Studies in family planning.

[30]  G. Almgren.  The Ecological Context of Interpersonal Violence , 2005, Journal of interpersonal violence.

[31]  G. Santow.  Social roles and physical health: the case of female disadvantage in poor countries. , 1995, Social science & medicine.

[32]  A C Gielen,et al.  The intersections of HIV and violence: directions for future research and interventions. , 2000, Social science & medicine.

[33]  P. Åstedt‐Kurki,et al.  Survival of intimate partner violence as experienced by women. , 2005, Journal of clinical nursing.

[34]  R. Bakare,et al.  Risk factors for HIV infection among special treatment clinic attendees in Ibadan, Nigeria. , 2004, African journal of medicine and medical sciences.

[35]  Jacquelyn C. Campbell,et al.  Women in South Africa , 2005 .

[36]  V. Paiva.  Beyond magical solutions: prevention of HIV and Aids and the process of "psychosocial emancipation" , 2002 .

[37]  L. Heise.  Violence against women: an integrated, ecological framework. , 1998, Violence against women.