Discussion Paper: Linkages between Violence against Women and HIV in Asia and the Pacific

There is limited research conducted in the Asia-Pacific region exploring the linkages between HIV and violence against women (VAW). While research conducted in sub-Saharan Africa and in hyper-epidemic settings have established that violence against women drives and fuels the HIV epidemic, there has been little analysis done in countries with concentrated epidemics such as those in the Asia-Pacific region, and therefore little is known about how they overlap. Perhaps as a result, policy and programmatic responses on VAW and HIV are not always coordinated and often run in parallel.

This Discussion Paper was commissioned to review and analyse existing qualitative and quantitative research on the relationship between violence against women and girls and HIV in the region. The paper clearly demonstrates that violence is a risk factor for HIV, with women living with HIV more likely to report a history of violence. It also shows that HIV is a risk factor for violence, including from intimate partners. It also demonstrates that key HIV-affected groups of women and girls, particularly sex-workers and female drug users, face disproportionate violence.