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FOUND 45
This publication provides a framework on women's rights, in the context of Africa. It goes on to conceptualize rights on equality between women and men, gender, intersectionality and multiple forms of discrimination, and more. The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol) is positioned in the current context, including HIV in the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights…
Friends may be an important influence for young women's risk of HIV infection as they serve as a medium to discuss norms about gender and sexuality and are a social network through which young women form sexual partnerships. In 2011, young women participating in a Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) trial in South Africa were asked about their friendships in detail. Results showed that friends' characteristics were linked to: a young woman's…
Deeply entrenched gender inequities perpetuate the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Botswana and Swaziland, the two countries with the highest HIV prevalence in the world. The legal systems in both countries grant women lesser status than men, restricting property, inheritance, and other rights. Social, economic, and cultural practices create, enforce and perpetuate legalized gender inequalities and discrimination in all aspects of women's lives. Neither…
Prevention of unplanned pregnancies among HIV-infected individuals is critical to the prevention of mother to child HIV transmission (PMTCT), but its potential has not been fully utilized by PMTCT programmes. The uptake of family planning methods among women in Uganda is low, with current use of family planning methods estimated at 24%, but available data has not been disaggregated by HIV status. The findings of this study highlight the need for…
Recent innovative research has identified key factors that put vulnerable South African women at risk of HIV/AIDS and gender-based violence, including high-risk patterns of alcohol abuse and sexual partnering, gender norms that place men in control in sexual relationships, low educational levels and limited access to employment, poor health care, inadequate housing, and sex work. These studies identified vulnerable populations of South African…
While acknowledging the significant overall progress made by the Zambian government in scaling up HIV treatment generally, this report documents how the government has fallen short of its international legal obligations to combat violence and discrimination against women. The report details abuses that obstruct women’s ability to start and adhere to HIV treatment regimens, including violence against women and insecure property rights that often…
This publication provides a descriptive analysis of how adolescent girls and young women construct notions of risk and safety within the context of HIV/AIDS, and what strategies they develop to protect themselves. The study is based on data from interviews held with 821 young women aged from 15-24 from four communities of urban Lusaka, and supplemented by qualitative data from focus group discussions and in-depth interviews. Information from…
This report vividly illustrates the failure of the Kenyan government to care for women living with HIV. At healthcare centers across Kenya, these women encounter physical and verbal abuse and are subject to discriminatory standards of care. They often cannot access antiretroviral treatment and their rights to informed consent and confidentiality are frequently violated during HIV testing and treatment. The publication calls on the Kenyan…
This research article describes the results of an analysis of the 2003 Nigerian Demographic and Health Survey to examine factors associated with extra-marital sex among women in Nigeria and investigate how much variation in reported extra-marital sex can be attributed to individual and community-level factors.
Small fishing and farming villages dot the rural landscape along the Indian Ocean on Tanzania's northern coast. Local men have fished for subsistence in this area for generations, while women have traditionally managed households and acted as primary caregivers.
This toolkit is a demonstration of the importance National AIDS Control Council (NACC) places on taking on board gender issues in HIV and AIDS in prevention, care, mitigation of social impacts on families, human rights and economic impact of the scourge on the country's economy. The toolkit offers an opportunity to policy and senior level decision makers to be exposed to gender issues in HIV and AIDS, thus enabling them to address the same in…
This paper summarizes the results from an experiment conducted with unmarried young women aged 15-21 in rural southern Malawi, during which respondents were randomly assigned to either an audio computer-assisted self-interview or a conventional face-to-face interview. In addition, biomarkers were collected for HIV and three STIs: gonorrhea, chlamydia, and trichomoniasis. Before collecting the biomarkers, nurses conducted a brief face-to-…
This paper demonstrates the importance of utilising official statistics from the voluntary counselling and testing centres (VCT) to determine the association between gender and HIV infection rates in Kenya. The study design adopted was a record based survey of data collected from VCT sites in Kenya. Of those who were tested, significantly more females tested positive and had twice as high a chance of being infected by HIV than males. The…
This project brief looks at a pilot project conducted by the ACQUIRE Project to integrate family planning within HIV care and treatment services. ACQUIRE worked with The AIDS Support Organization (TASO) in Uganda to implement a number of strategies, such as:* Determining the fertility desires and reproductive health issues of HIV-positive women and couples, including how women accessing HIV care and treatment service met their family planning…
This conference room paper provided as a reference document at the 20th Meeting of the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board discussion of policy guidance to address gender issues presents the preliminary findings of a review of progress in strengthening national AIDS programmes for women and girls in the nine countries that participated in the United Nations Secretary-General's Task Force on Women, Girls and HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa.
This study assesses the potential roles of late age at marriage and a long period of premarital sexual activity as population risk factors for HIV infection in the sub-Saharan Africa region. The relationship between marital status and the prevalence and incidence of HIV is examined with ecological data from 33 sub-Saharan African countries and with individual-level data from nationally representative Demographic and Health Surveys in Kenya…
This paper examines poverty and social structures that may keep many women in Africa from being able to protect themselves from HIV.
This report examines the use of sexual violence in the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and demonstrates how women and girls in the DRC have been exploited as producers and reproducers both in order to maintain fighters and ensure their day-to-day survival as well as to provide them with sexual services. The authors conclude that rape in conflict in the DRC was a coordinated tool used to degrade enemies and rip apart societies…
This Report was commissioned by the United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan. Under the leadership of Ms Carol Bellamy, Executive Director of UNICEF, the Task Force on Women and Girls in Southern Africa comprises twenty seven members from Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The members represent a broad spectrum of stakeholders including government, NGOs and people living with HIV and AIDS.…
This publication highlights successful initiatives in Africa that have inspired confidence that the continent can one day free itself of the virus, with or without a vaccine or medical cure. The report summarizes the challenges facing Africa and the wider international community as new resources are channeled into more effective efforts to confront HIV/AIDS on the continent. Three major challenges receive detailed attention: (1). The need…