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Intimate Partner Violence Triples the Risk of HIV in Women

Intimate Partner Violence Triples the Risk of HIV in Women

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In several of the worst affected countries, there is a significant overlap between violence against women and HIV infections.

Highlights:
  • More than one in every four women worldwide will experience intimate partner violence in their lifetime
  • Women who have experienced domestic abuse are three times more likely to get HIV
  • Among HIV-positive women, those who experienced intimate partner violence were 9% less likely to achieve viral load suppression- the goal of HIV treatment
Women who have recently experienced intimate partner violence (IPV) are three times more likely to get HIV, according to a new study headed by McGill University researchers. In Sub-Saharan Africa, for example, women endure an intersecting epidemic of intimate partner abuse and HIV.


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Prevalence of Intimate Partner Violence and HIV

“Worldwide, more than one in four women experience intimate partner violence in their lifetime,” says McGill University Professor Mathieu Maheu-Giroux, a Canada Research Chair in Population Health Modeling. “Sub-Saharan Africa is among one of the regions in the world with the highest prevalence of both IPV and HIV. We wanted to examine the effects of intimate partner violence on recent HIV infections and women’s access to HIV care in this region,” he says.



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Violence Affects Goal of HIV Treatment Among Women

Their research, published in The Lancet HIV, reveals a significant overlap between violence against women and HIV infections in several of the most affected nations. Women living with HIV who had experienced intimate partner violence were 9% less likely to achieve viral load suppression, the ultimate goal of HIV treatment.



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Elimination of All Forms of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence

“The 2021 UN General Assembly, attended and supported by the Government of Canada, adopted the Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS with bold new global targets for 2025. It encompasses a commitment to eliminate all forms of sexual and gender-based violence, including IPV, as a key enabler of the HIV epidemic. Improving our understanding of the relationships between IPV and HIV is essential to meet this commitment,” says Professor Maheu-Giroux.

Physical or sexual intimate partner violence in the previous year was linked to recent HIV acquisition and less frequent viral load suppression, according to the study. According to the researchers, IPV could also make it difficult for women to get HIV treatment and stay on it while living with the infection.

“Given the high burden of IPV worldwide, including in Canada, the need to stem the mutually reinforcing threats of IPV and HIV on women’s health and well-being is urgent,” says Salome Kuchukhidze, a Ph.D. candidate studying epidemiology and the lead author of the research.

Source-Medindia


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