Violence against women and HIV&AIDS are mu¬tually reinforcing pandemics; the need and the opportunity for integrated approaches addressing their intersection are increasingly evident. To date, however, such strategies have not been implemented on a widespread scale. Advocates and communities working on HIV&AIDS and VAWG are just beginning to come together to explore common strategies.

 This report highlights key elements to consider in such strat¬egies, by profiling organizations that employ human rights and gender-sensitive approaches to the dual pandemics; that empower marginalized sectors of society; that pro¬mote community ownership; that build the capacity of civil society; that encourage cross-sectoral integration; and that facilitate linkages between advocates and activists within the HIV&AIDS and VAWG movements.
 
Together We Must! is organized around four broad-based strategies for tackling the intersection:
• Community mobili¬zation to transform harmful gender norms;
• Engagement of marginalized groups that are often more vulnerable to the twin pandemics;
• Development of integrated approaches to support and care;
• Advocacy for greater accountability among funding agencies and policy makers.

Collectively, these strategies offer valuable lessons and promising practices for other organizations and highlight the need for formal evalu¬ations of such initiatives to better understand and enhance their impact. Essentially, Together We Must! represents an initial effort to draw attention to the knowledge, institutional capacity and re¬sources needed to comprehensively address the intersec¬tion between HIV&AIDS and VAWG.

To access the publication go to: http://actionaidusa.org/assets/pdfs/together_we_must.pdf