Health
HIV/AIDS
HIV/AIDS is a sub-theme of the PeaceWomen Theme: Health, and forms part of PeaceWomen’s framework to organize our women, peace and security resources for ease of reference and understanding. It is important to note that themes and sub-themes are interlinked and mutually reinforcing.
As the fourth most common cause of death worldwide, HIV/AIDS can be a direct “threat to stability worldwide,” and in fact was stated, by the Security Council in resolution 1308 (2000) to be “exacerbated by conditions of violence that increase the risks of exposure to the disease through large movements of people, widespread uncertainty over conditions and reduced access to medical care. If unchecked, HIV/AIDS may pose a risk to stability and security(Security Council Resolution 1308)”. Gender inequality both “fuels and intensifies the impact of the HIV epidemic,” due to gender norms that often dictate women’s role in sex as passive or reinforce a belief that men should seek multiple sexual partners, take risks and be self reliant.”
In conflict, women have an increased risk of contracting HIV/AIDs partially as a result of their risk of displacement and increased likelihood of being victims of sexual violence. According to the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), “wars and armed conflicts generate fertile conditions for the spread of HIV” and furthermore, “rape inside or outside refugee camps has doubtless played a part in spreading the virus.” In some such conflicts, HIV has been used purposely to infect women as a tool of ethnic warfare, and then as a result of the rape become pregnant who then bear children who will “eventually become AIDS orphans or succumb to the disease themselves.” Once conflicts subside, women additionally often have the responsibility of caring for family members with HIV/AIDS, thus they face a disproportionate burden of being the caregiver and also the one uniquely at risk for HIV contraction.
Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) requested that Member States incorporate HIV/AIDS awareness training into their “national programmes for military and civilian police personnel in preparation for deployment” and also that the Secretary-General ensure that a similar training is provided for peacekeeping troops (OP6).
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August 30, 2010 (Sydney Morning Herald)
AUSTRALIA/INTERNATIONAL: UN Chief Addresses Melbourne Summit
United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon has called on a Melbourne conference to do more to "keep the promise" of saving the lives of women and children.
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August 13, 2010 (Southern Times)
SOUTH AFRICA: Rape Contributes to HIV/AIDS Spread Among SADC Women and Girls
The revelation by SADC Gender Programme's head Ms. Magdeline Mathiba-Madibela at a press briefing in Windhoek this week ahead of the SADC Heads of States Summit, that HIV and AIDS disproportionately affects Southern African women and girls as a result of sexually-related-violence and unequal gender relations is not only worrying but a great challenge to the sub-region's governments and human development efforts.
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August 6, 2010 (Huffington Post)
SIERRA LEONE: Sierra Leone's Model for Improving Maternal Health and Women's Rights (Blog)
Continuing high rates of maternal mortality and persistent gender-based violence must be addressed through a holistic and rights-based approach that strengthens health systems and empowers women. As we approach the ten-year review of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals in September, we have an extraordinary model of leadership to look to in Sierra Leone of how such approaches can be implemented in practice.
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February 11, 2010 (All Africa)
DRC: Sexual Violence Exacerbates National Aids Epidemic
Sexual violence used as a weapon of war in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo continues unabated as more than a decade of conflict in the area drags on. This week the world has again turned its eyes to this ongoing issue, as new figures released by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) stated that over 8,000 women were raped in the region in 2009.
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December 10, 2009 (IPS)
ZIMBABWE: Mugabe Orchestrated Rape - AIDS-Free World report
The report was launched on International Human Rights Day as an appeal to leaders around the world to stop ignoring the violence being carried out against the people of Zimbabwe and to declare the systematic rape of women pre-, post- and during the 2008 elections, a crime against humanity.
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Towards More Informed Responses to Gender Violence and HIV/AIDS in Post-Conflict West African Settings,
Babatunde Ahonsi,
February 2010
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Widespread Rape Does Not Directly Appear to Increase the Overall HIV Prevalence in Conflict-Affected Countries: So Now What?,
Aranka Anema, Michel R Joffres, Edward Mills, Paul B Spiegel ,
July 29, 2008
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Making the Response to AIDS Work for Young Women and Girls ,
United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM),
June 11, 2008
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Summary Paper of the Research Project "Psychosocial Assistance to Children in Difficult Circumstances in West Africa",
Alice Behrendt,
June 2008
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Women and Girls living with HIV/AIDS: Overview and Annotated Bibliography,
Emily Esplen, report prepared at the request of Irish Aid by BRIDGE in collaboration with the International Community of Women Living with HIV and AIDS (ICW),
February 2007
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Online Discussion on Women and Men: Equal Sharing of Responsibilities,
;Online Dialogues & Blogs,
United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW),
July 7 - August 1, 2008
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UNIFEM Commemorates November 25th and the 16 Days of Activism Campaign,
Campaigns, Training & Workshops, Conferences & Meetings,
United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM),
November 23-25, 2004
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Innovative Postal Campaign Brings HIV Messages Nationwide in Nepal,
Campaigns,
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February 20, 2004