by Mabel Bianco

As part of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence Campaign, and on behalf of the Latin American and Caribbean regional coordination group for Women Won’t Wait, FEIM updated the regional report from 2007 and published a new version called “Silenced Links: Violence and HIV in Women. A current look at Latin America and the Caribbean”. This report was presented at the V Latin American and Caribbean Forum on HIV/AIDS and STIs in Lima, Peru in the session organized on November 22, 2009.

In the report, the statistics on the intersection of HIV/AIDS and violence against women in the region were updated and new data was incorporated based on recent research in Central America and the MERCOSUR. The information from the MERCOSUR is based on a project coordinated by FEIM: “Two sides of the same reality. Violence against women and the feminization of HIV in the MERCOSUR”, which is being conducted in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay from 2008-2009 with the support of the UNIFEM Trust Fund.

In the four countries there was a high percentage of WLWHA who suffered a violent situation at some moment in their lives, with the highest rates reported in Argentina (93.1%) and Brazil (97.5%).

In all countries, violence was experienced principally before the diagnosis of HIV: 79.2% in Argentina, 62% in Brazil and Uruguay and 55.9% in Chile.

In most cases violence was perpetrated by the victim’s husband, ex-husband, boyfriend or ex-boyfriend. The continuum of violence experienced by these women affected their self-esteem, health and self-care ability, increasing their isolation, lack of power and information and therefore their vulnerability to HIV/AIDS.

Violence against women is a key factor in increasing women’s and girls’ vulnerability to HIV in the region. Governments need to take action. The new 2009 regional report includes a broader set of recommendations for governments. The report is available in Spanish on FEIM’s website: http://www.feim.org.ar/www.html

Mabel Bianco is the President of Fundación para Estudio e Investigación de la Mujer (FEIM).  FEIM is a member of the international alliance of the Women WON'T wait. End HIV and Violence Against Women. NOW. Campaign. 

---
Watch out for our daily blogs during the 16 days of Activism:
 
25 Nov - Intensify efforts in ending all forms of violence against women and girls (Shamillah Wilson, South Africa)
26 - Are All Defenders Equal? (Cynthia Rothschild, New York, USA)
27 - Give me back my movement! (Everjoice J. Win, Zimbabwe)
28 - An essential package of services to deal with two interlinked human rights and rights crises. (Neelanjana Mukhia, India)
29th - Questions of accountability and violence against women and girl and HIV&AIDS. (Shamillah Wilson, South Africa)
30th - Female Condoms: Now More Than Ever. (Kimberley Whipkey, USA)
1st Dec - Violence of Judgementalism (Meena Saraswathi Seshu, India)
2nd - Violence Against Women, Disasters and Climate Change (Jacqui Patterson, USA)
3rd - Silenced Links: Violence and HIV in Women. A current look at Latin America and the Caribbean. (Mabel Bianco, Argentina)
4th - Sexist Violence. Some Data to take into consideration. (Nirvana Gonzalez Rosa, Puerto Rico/Chile)
5th - Sex Workers. Sex Worker Rights. (Aziza Ahmed, USA)
Rights Not Rescue. Experiences of Sex Workers in Southern Africa. (Vicci Tallis, South Africa)
6th - Criminalisation of HIV and concerns for violence against women. (Norah Matovu Winyi, Kenya)
7th - Issues of violence against lesbian women and lesbian, bi- and transsexual women. (Vicci Tallis, South Africa)
8th - Violence against women in conflict situations. (Mary Wandia - Kenya and Neelanjana Mukhia - India)
9th - Today the enemy is homosexual. Tomorrow it could be you. (Christine Butegwa, Uganda)
10th - Our work isnt done - response to VAW as a consequence of HIV (Neelanjana Mukhia, India)
-------
The Women WON'T wait. End HIV and Violence Against Women. NOW. Campaign is an international coalition of organizations and networks working to promote women's health and human rights in the struggle to address HIV and AIDS and end all forms of violence against women and girls.
 
Members of the campaign are: Action Aid; African Women’s Development and Communications Network (FEMNET); Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID); Akina Mama wa Afrika; Center for Women’s Global Leadership (CWGL); Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE); Fundación para Estudio e Investigación de la Mujer (FEIM); GESTOS-Soropositividade, Comunicação & Gênero; International Community of Women Living with HIV&AIDS Southern Africa (ICW-Southern Africa); International Women’s AIDS Caucus; International Women’s Health Coalition (IWHC); Latin American and Caribbean Women’s Health Network; Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA); Program on International Health and Human Rights, Harvard School of Public Health; SANGRAM; VAMP; and Women and Law in Southern Africa (WLSA).
 
Become a fan of our facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Women-Wont-Wait-Campaign-End-HIV-and-Violence-Against-Women-NOW/192809781054?ref=ts