NCJ Number
219125
Journal
Violence Against Women Volume: 13 Issue: 6 Dated: June 2007 Pages: 583-602
Date Published
June 2007
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This study examined the link between risk for intimate partner violence (IPV) and HIV infection among 18 women in South Africa.
Abstract
The study found that the women had experienced various forms of intimate partner abuse, which reinforced each other and created a climate that sustained the abuse and increased the women's risk for HIV infection. Having male partners with multiple concurrent sexual contacts with other women and poor communication within the relationship increased the women's vulnerability to HIV and abuse. A social environment of secrecy about IPV, male power over women, and economic constraints on women enabled the abuse to continue. The findings of this study reinforce the need to conduct research and interventions with men in general and abusive men in particular. These efforts should address the gender norms that condone and encourage sexual risk-taking. The feasibility of conducting interventions with couples should be assessed. An in-depth, qualitative interview guide was developed and administered to women seeking services at People Opposing Women Abuse, a well-established Johannesburg-based, nongovernmental organization that provides services to abused women. The purpose of the interviews was to gain information that would assist in the development of an intervention that would assist abused women in reducing their risk for HIV infection. The interview protocol used a semistructured format that addressed specific domains related to the experiences of abuse, beliefs, and attitudes regarding HIV risk and community norms. A total of 27 women completed the interviews from June to August 2002, producing 18 usable transcripts. 46 references