Women and girls

Marouane Abouzid, a 25-year-old from Casablanca, grew up in an environment where social challenges and gender stereotypes were pervasive. However, his perspective changed the day he joined "The Ball is Your Protection" program, an initiative by Tibu Africa in partnership with UNAIDS, which uses sports to raise awareness about HIV, gender equality, and gender-based violence. 

Before joining the program, Marouane had limited knowledge about HIV and gender equality. “The training on HIV awareness led by UNAIDS and Tibu Africa was a transformative experience,” he says. “It equipped me with essential skills like effective communication and active listening.” Thanks to the program, Marouane discovered how sports can be a powerful tool to engage young people on often-overlooked topics, such as HIV prevention and breaking gender stereotypes. 

Now, trained to be a change ambassador in his community, Marouane leads sports activities and participates in educational sessions, becoming a role model for his peers. “I talk openly about what I’ve learned. I encourage my friends to get tested for HIV and respect the rights of others,” he shares. 

For Marouane, this program was more than just training. “Today, I feel ready to take action and share what I’ve learned with my community,” he says. 

During the closing ceremony of the "The Ball is Your Protection” project, Marouane facilitated workshops and sports activities with other young participants. “I saw how sports could become a tool for awareness and social mobilization,” he explains. These activities created a safe space for young people to discuss issues related to HIV and gender equality, free from societal judgment. 

In Morocco, approximately 23,000 people live with HIV, nearly 50% of whom are women. Although the prevalence rate is relatively low, vulnerable groups such as sex workers, men who have sex with men, and people who inject drugs are particularly at risk. “Before, I thought HIV didn’t have a real impact on those around me. Now, I understand that we all have a role to play,” Marouane adds. 

Marouane is not alone on this journey. Assia Ezzahraoui, 25, a participant in Tibu Africa’s Sports Vocational School program, reflects: “HIV awareness was a profoundly enriching experience. It gave me new insights into symptoms, prevention methods, and available treatments.” For Assia, taking part in the educational event deepened her understanding of HIV and reinforced the importance of protecting her health and that of those around her. 

“I want to thank everyone who contributed to this initiative. Their commitment to young athletes in Morocco is truly inspiring,” says Assia, emphasizing the value of such events in educating youth about HIV. 

Thanks to initiatives like "The Ball is Your Protection," young people like Marouane and Assia are playing an active role in addressing gender inequalities and HIV-related stigma. These young leaders are helping to build a healthier and more equitable future, proving that change can start with something as simple as a ball. 

GENEVA, 25 November 2024—Gender-based violence persists as one of the most appalling violations of human rights. It also thwarts efforts to end AIDS as a public health threat because intimate partner violence is linked with a heightened risk of HIV acquisition among women and undermines access to testing and treatment.

Globally, one in eight women and girls experiences sexual violence before the age of 18. Harmful gender norms, low prioritization of safe, qualitative and affordable sexual and reproductive health services, as well as fragile health systems heighten women’s risk of contracting HIV and prevent access to HIV services.

In addition, women and girls living with HIV are too often stigmatized by health service providers. They also experience pressure not to have children, forced and coerced sterilization or termination of a pregnancy. All violations of human rights.

“We must counter patriarchy and poverty to keep girls in school and we must provide women and girls safe spaces, economic opportunities and ensure their recognition and leadership,” said Winnie Byanyima, UNAIDS Executive Director.

“We must also fight rigid gender norms and stereotypes that perpetuate unhealthy masculinity and violence based on gender."

Gender-related killings of women and girls are the deadliest outcome of gender-based violence with a woman being killed every 11 minutes. This is unacceptable. In 2022, the number of women and girls killed intentionally – nearly 89,000 – is the highest yearly number recorded in the past 20 years.  Women from key populations – transgender women, sex workers, and LGBTQ+ human rights defenders - are also at particular risk of femicide according to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).

On the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women this year, the campaign kicked off with the theme ‘UNiTE to End Violence against Women and Girls: Towards Beijing +30.’  These 16 Days of Activism remind us that 30 years after the Beijing declaration - a blueprint for achieving gender equality and women’s and girls’ rights everywhere - the world is far from such a gender equal world.

UNAIDS remains committed to working collaboratively with governments, business, civil society, communities and especially women’s movements and networks to create a world where the rights and dignity of all women and girls are respected and protected, including women and girls living with, at risk of and affected by HIV.

Started in 1991, the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence is an international campaign that kicks off on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and runs until 10 December, Human Rights.

UNAIDS

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) leads and inspires the world to achieve its shared vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. UNAIDS unites the efforts of 11 UN organizations—UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, UN Women, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank—and works closely with global and national partners towards ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. Learn more at unaids.org and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

The only HIV prevention that Elena Felix knew of was condoms. But condoms were not something that she was able to make use of, and she contracted HIV. Thirty years after her diagnosis, she’s helped conduct research to determine whether women in the Philippines would use a more confidential tool, and one that does not need a man to agree, to lower women’s risk of HIV infection.

“We hear from women that some partners insist on not using condoms. We hear cases too of rape. Women need protection that does not depend on men” the Association of Positive Women Advocates founder explained.

The Dapivirine Vaginal Ring or DVR was given the green light by the World Health Organization for women at high risk of contracting HIV in 2021. Unlike other types of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), this one is exclusively for women. It is a silicone vaginal ring that is inserted and worn for 28 days before being replaced. It releases an antiretroviral drug locally, reducing the risk of HIV infection through vaginal sex by half.

Since its introduction, the technology was made available in several (11) African countries. And with good reason. Around two-thirds of new HIV infections in Eastern and southern Africa and Western and central Africa are among adolescent girls and women. The combination prevention strategies implemented in these two regions have super-charged progress, driving the global 39% decline in new infections since 2010.

But the Asia Pacific picture is quite different.

“This region has an HIV prevention crisis,” Eamonn Murphy, UNAIDS Regional Director for Asia Pacific and Eastern Europe Central Asia said. “And I am not speaking only of the countries where new infections have doubled, tripled or increased six times since 2010. The average regional decline in new infections is far too slow. At 13% it has virtually flatlined.”

He was speaking to a group of community, government, research and development partners from Cambodia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and the Philippines who met from November 11 – 12 in Bangkok. Findings were disseminated from a DVR acceptability and feasibility study conducted by ThinkPlace, and a discussion held on next steps. UNAIDS and the World Health Organization (WHO) are providing technical support for this initiative. The Australia Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) funded the research as part of its ongoing support for prevention work in the region.

Seven percent of new infections in Asia Pacific are among sex workers while 12 percent occur among the intimate partners of key populations. Angeli Achrekar, UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director, called for women in Asia and the Pacific to be provided more HIV prevention options.

“Choice is the way to go!” Ms Achrekar stressed. “Providing options in prevention tools and service delivery increases overall use and results. We must ensure that people have access and that they are supported with the appropriate policies and enabling environment. The ring has great potential to be empowering as an additional choice for women, including in Asia Pacific.”

A person newly acquires HIV in the Asia Pacific region every two minutes. Despite this, the overall momentum on rolling out pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) options has been sluggish. At the end of 2023 there were just 204,000 PrEP users in this region, 98% short of the 8,200,000 target by 2025. The vast majority of those on PrEP were men.

ThinkPlace Regional Director, Elliot Duffy, revealed that overall, the studies found women have high interest in this discreet, woman-controlled prevention method. Sex workers in the four countries sought the DVR given their high vulnerability to sexual violence. And in all countries the sex workers indicated that they would want to access the DVR through community-based health services or their local healthcare facilities. The research also found that healthcare providers in the four countries were enthusiastic about offering this new prevention option.

“The number one barrier is the extent to which women understand how the ring would fit. Many had questions like, “would it be lost in my body? Will I feel pain? Will I be able to have sex?’ Some women worried about a partner thinking they distrusted them,” Mr Duffy explained. “The DVR is not immune to the challenges of other HIV programs and continued effort is needed to increase awareness, generate demand and create services that are accessible.”

Already the research findings have resulted in the introduction and phased implementation of the DVR into 2024 – 2026 Global Fund grant implementation for Cambodia and Indonesia. Cambodia has begun pilot testing. At the meeting the four country teams developed plans to guide their next steps, including on further research, legal and policy reviews, regulatory approvals and community system strengthening.

DFAT Health Adviser, Joshua Metcalf-Wallach, emphasized that as stakeholders switched gears from research to rollout, they should keep communities in the driver’s seat.

“Our Indo-Pacific prevention work has shown that HIV services work best when they are key population- and community-led. As we expand prevention options for women, let us be guided by their needs and demands,” he ended.

New long-acting technologies are changing the HIV prevention landscape. In recent years, innovation in pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) has accelerated. Long acting injectable cabotegravir and the dapivirine vaginal ring as innovative formulations of PrEP have already joined oral PrEP containing tenofovir as WHO-recommended effective and acceptable options for HIV prevention, and there are additional antiretroviral-based options on the immediate horizon. These options complement other effective, non-antiretroviral-based HIV prevention products including condoms and lubricants, and harm reduction strategies.

This year clinical trial results for PURPOSE 1 and 2 showed the high prevention effectiveness of the 6-monthly long-acting injectable drug, lenacapavir for cisgender adolescent girls and women, cisgender men and transgender women.  Among the cisgender adolescent girls and women participating in the trial, no HIV acquisitions were recorded during 12 months of follow-up among the women who received injectable lenacapavir. The Global HIV Prevention Coalition (GPC), UNAIDS and other partners called on Gilead Sciences to accelerate their efforts in ensuring that it is made available, accessible and cost effective especially to low- and middle-income countries. This twice-yearly injection is a promising option and offers increased choice, discretion and convenience for people who may benefit from HIV prevention.

In October 2024, at the Research for Prevention (R4P) conference in Peru, the Population Council announced phase 1 trial results from IPM 054, showing that the three-month dapivirine ring is as safe as the currently available one-month ring with similar levels of drug release. The 3-month ring like the 1-month ring is a woman-controlled option but would be more cost effective (an estimated 60% reduction in cost per user) and potentially an even more convenient HIV prevention option for women and adolescent girls.

“We need to follow the science, and the science has shown us that by making a range of effective HIV prevention options available and accessible, we can stop HIV transmission and drop new infections by addressing biomedical, behavioral and structural drivers simultaneously. Ending AIDS remains a political and financial choice”, says Angeli Achrekar, UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director Programmes.

This complements a partnership announcement by the Global Fund and the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) of an USD 2 million initiative for 2024-2025 to purchase an estimated 150 000 dapivirine vaginal rings for use as PrEP in the Global Fund grant implementing countries. This would increase accessibility to one of the most discreet HIV prevention options for women and adolescent girls.

The World Health Organization (WHO) PrEP Implementation Tool Provider Module for Oral and Long Acting PrEP, launched in July 2024, integrates clinical service delivery  guidance for the three WHO recommended PrEP products (oral PrEP, the dapivirine vaginal ring and long-acting injectable cabotegravir) by a range of different providers in clinical or community settings and emphasizes the importance of access and choice.

These strategic advancements align to the HIV Prevention Choice Manifesto For Women and Girls in Africa that calls for prevention options to be made choices and urges that research and development of new HIV prevention options actual choices, thereby empowering women and girls to take control of their health and bodies. It also emphasizes the importance of ongoing research and development of innovative HIV prevention methods.

“Adolescent girls and women are gaining access to an increasing range of safe and effective options. Scale-up of HIV prevention will depend on supporting access to choice, strong country leadership and an enabling environment. An HIV free future for girls is possible, but only if the global community comes together with ambitious plans to make this range of PrEP options available with speed, scale and equity,” says Mitchell Warren, Executive Director, AVAC and GPC, Co-chair.

The GPC co-convened, by UNAIDS and UNFPA, will continue to work with its partners to accelerate HIV prevention to achieve the global target of less than 370 000 new HIV infections annually by 2025.

About the GPC

In 2017, a global coalition of United Nations Member States, donors, civil society organizations, and implementers was established to support global efforts to accelerate HIV prevention.  Membership includes 38 of the highest HIV-burden countries, UNAIDS Cosponsors, donors, civil society, and private sector organizations. The overarching goal of the Global HIV Prevention Coalition is to strengthen and sustain a political commitment to primary prevention by setting a common agenda among key policymakers, funders, and program implementers.

The Mentor programme for women in Kazakhstan was established to empower women living with or affected by HIV by connecting them with mentors who share their life experiences and provide critical support during challenging times. Co-financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan and supported by UNAIDS, the program creates a safe space for women to learn, grow, and draw strength from one another. Through training seminars, support groups, and one-on-one mentoring, it helps women overcome stigma, rebuild their lives, and find their purpose. 

Meet three inspiring leaders from this programme—women who never saw themselves as heroes but are, indeed, changing lives. 

Halima

Several years ago, Halima found herself at a crisis center for women victims of domestic violence in Almaty, Kazakhstan. She was at rock bottom—diagnosed with HIV, grieving the loss of her second son, and trapped in an abusive marriage with a husband who drank heavily and often turned violent. Raised in a family that valued tradition, Halima felt compelled to keep the peace at all costs, but the weight of her daily life became unbearable. 

At her lowest point, an elderly doctor’s advice pushed her into action: “If you want your eldest son to end up in an orphanage, your husband homeless, and you in a mental hospital, you are sadly following that path.” Determined to change her fate, Halima sought help at the crisis center, which she credits with helping her climb out of the “dark hole” of depression. 

Today, Halima is helping other women in the mentoring programme. She shares her story with women, believing that her experiences can inspire others to seek life-saving HIV treatment and persevere.

At her lowest point, an elderly doctor’s advice pushed her into action: “If you want your eldest son to end up in an orphanage, your husband homeless, and you in a mental hospital, you are sadly following that path.” Determined to change her fate, Halima sought help at the crisis center, which she credits with helping her climb out of the “dark hole” of depression. 

Today, Halima is helping other women in the mentoring programme. She shares her story with women, believing that her experiences can inspire others to seek life-saving HIV treatment and persevere.

"I make sure to give each person my undivided attention so I can explain in simple terms what HIV is, what an undetectable viral load means, and how to get better,” she says.
Her work extends beyond Almaty, reaching women in rural areas where information about HIV and access to services is limited. “I have no special education, but I love learning. While I’m cleaning or mopping the floors, I listen to psychologists and doctors on my headphones,” she says, knowing that every bit of knowledge helps her make a difference. 

Lena

“This is a complex group,” says Lena from Pavlodar, Kazakhstan. She works with 17 women in a mentoring programme. Many of the women use drugs, have experienced domestic violence or have been in prison. Lena, aged 55, used drugs for over 20 years, but she has been drug-free for seven years, crediting opioid agonist maintenance therapy for helping her quit. 

“I went through all this myself. I remember how it was using drugs: I fell asleep—it’s winter. Woke up—summer,” she says. “If a person comes to therapy out of desperation, does not want to steal or torment their parents and loved ones, this programme can help them.” 

The therapy helps mitigate the need for drugs, but Lena emphasizes “it is important that peers and psychologists work with people and prepare them to leave the programme and have access to essential HIV prevention services and treatment”. 

After being released from prison nearly a year ago, Lena became a peer consultant in the women’s mentoring programme. 

“The problem for many people who use drugs is that they live with HIV and TB but cannot access available services or receive therapy,” Lena explains. Without a home or family, they are invisible to the social protection system and are often driven into desperate situations. “They need a helping hand. They are humans and live next to us."

Lena helps some people register for medical or social support facilities, and others to get treatment. She plans to meet with the akim (mayor) to propose a project to create a support system for people who are left behind. Lena believes there should be no situations where a person is alone and cannot be admitted to a home for disabled or elderly people because they are living with HIV. It is crucial to revise the laws so that everyone is allowed access to social institutions. 

Lena is dedicated to the programme. “I am reborn from this work. My eyes light up, and I feel strong and ready to help,” she says. 

Zulfiya

Zulfiya, a mother of three who has lived with HIV for nearly 20 years, uses her experience to support adolescents and young women in the program. “My task is to help them accept their diagnosis, start treatment, and stick to their medication,” she explains. She refers women to psychologists, social workers, or lawyers when additional support is needed. Zulfiya understands the denial many women face; she felt it herself two decades ago. Inspired by her son, an activist in the Teenager youth organization for adolescents living with HIV, she found her calling in guiding women who never thought HIV would touch their lives. 

Connecting women with other women in a predominantly male-dominated society is the foundation of the mentoring program. “Women in Kazakhstan are often forced to solve a wide range of problems themselves, whether it’s financial difficulties, lack of help, or protection from violence,” says Elena Rastokina, coordinator of the Mentor Programme for Women. “They are not used to uniting in women’s communities, do not know how to ask for help, and often do not know their rights.” Despite the challenges, she is immensely proud of what the mentors have achieved. “When women support each other, they find strength they never knew they had. We need each other, and together, we can change lives.” 

The mentoring programme covers 10 regions of the country. Dozens of women have received help. Some have learnt a new skill and found a job, and others have managed to accept their diagnosis and restore family ties. With help from the programme, many women who use drugs have managed to quit active drug use, improve adherence to life-saving HIV and TB treatment, and reconnect with the community.  

 For Aliya Bokazhanova, UNAIDS Country Director a.i. in Kazakhstan, these are incremental steps to empowering women from key populations. “Women living with HIV have the opportunity to develop and receive the necessary support and inspiration from experienced mentors, which contributes to their self-realization and integration into society,” she says. 

As of 2024, there are an estimated 40 000 [35 000–46 000] people living with HIV in Kazakhstan. New HIV infections are mostly among people from key populations (people who use drugs, gay men and other men who have sex with men, sex workers, and people in prisons and other closed settings). HIV prevalence among people who inject drugs is almost 7%, compared with 0.3% in the general population. 

Four weeks before the African Cup of Nations football tournament kicked off it was down to the wire. José Fardon, a Côte d’Ivoire web designer and digital developer, had his whole team frantically working on a special edition of an interactive health and HIV game app, called "A l'Assaut du Sida", ‘Tackling AIDS’ (AADS) to coincide with the tournament.

The UNAIDS team had secured funds for the latest rendition of the online game and had rallied UNICEF and the Global Fund to chip in.

“We had launched various versions of the game in the past, but this required a different look and feel to gel with the sporting event,” said Mr Fardon, founder of SYL.

They also needed a final approval from the National AIDS Programme (PNLS).

"Out of the many initiatives put forward ahead of the CAN, the online app really appealed to us because we knew it would not only reach the target audience, it would also make an impact,” said Eboi Ehui, PNLS Coordinating Director. “This is a generation that has never seen the ravages of AIDS so they have felt like it isn’t a problem but it is.”

The success was beyond anyone’s expectations.

The 20,000 tournament volunteers recruited by the Ministry of Youth not only played the online game themselves but they fanned out around the stadiums promoting the game by sharing the QR code with the hundreds of thousands of supporters. And with various prize giveaways during the tournament and afterwards, more and more people downloaded the app to play. Since mid-January 2024, AADS has reached nearly 200,000 adolescents and young people with the latest version reaching a lot of young boys and men (cumulatively, the three versions have reached almost 300 000 people.)

“When I think back, this idea germinated in 2016 as a tool for schools then was launched at the Francophonie Games a year later but now, we really brought it to the general public,” Mr Fardon said. “I am so proud we never gave up.”

His determination impressed more than one person.

In eight years, he convinced UNAIDS staff, the country’s Ministry of Health in close collaboration with PNLS, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Youth and countless partners on the ground.

UNAIDS Country Director Henk Van Renterghem, like his predecessors before him, saw the value and potential of using digital technology to reach adolescents and young people. “General knowledge about HIV and overall comprehensive sexual education has decreased and young people are struggling with so many choices that this easy to download game is without a doubt relevant,” he said.

In July 2023, he explained, the National AIDS Council was alerted by the results of a survey and beseeched HIV partners to step up communication and education efforts.

“Despite the fact that young people have more access to information through the internet and social media than ever before, many young people are struggling to make informed decisions about their sexual relations,” said Mr Van Renterghem. For example, the survey revealed that only 40% knew that medicine (anti-retroviral treatment) existed for HIV and 39% of girls (29% of boys) did not know that condoms prevented HIV transmission. Last year, 20% of new HIV infections in the country were among 15–24-year-olds, according to government data.

As a result, UNAIDS staff along with SYL, vetted and increased the number of questions expanding prevention info.

He and his staff were particularly happy because they also succeeded in expanding the scope of the content.

In went the fact that people with HIV on effective treatment can achieve an undetectable viral load and cannot transmit the virus (U=U) plus stuff about stigma & discrimination, human rights, gender equality and gender-based violence – all structural drivers of HIV.

The full game of 400 questions is like a quiz with additional information popping up. Players score points by advancing through 40 sets of ten questions. At least seven correct answers are needed to advance to the next level. It can take up to an hour to get to the last round and when the updated pilot was tested in October and November of 2023, young people responded well.

Two of the young players who scored in the best percentile agreed.

“The game really taught me a lot. There are a lot of facts about HIV and sexually transmitted diseases,” said Marie Koffi. For Wilfried Touré he said, “I learned a lot of things that I had no idea about from tuberculosis to HIV and even on a personal level I picked things up.”

Going forward national partners now want to distribute a scholastic version of the game to all Côte d’Ivoire schools.

During the final awards ceremony at the end of March, Côte d’Ivoire’s Minister of Health, Pierre Dimba, was clear.  “This fun and educational online game is a response to young people's need for true and accurate information via social media,” he said.  “The popularity of this game among teenagers is a real testimony that adapting our communication strategies to the habits and needs of young people pays off.”

In Mr Van Renterghem’s mind, Côte d’Ivoire should be proud.

“This home-grown low-cost tool will help us sustain our HIV prevention efforts as international funding will inevitably dwindle.”

That is in part why Mr Fardon and UN partners are dreaming even bigger.

“We would like to launch the app-based game in neighboring countries and eventually roll this out throughout western and central Africa,” he said.

“The sky is the limit.”

Women living with HIV including women from key populations continue to suffer widespread reproductive coercion, mistreatment, and neglect when seeking reproductive health services and rights around the world, a new report by the International Community of Women Living with HIV (ICW) has revealed today. The report was launched at a joint ICW/UNAIDS event at the 25^th International AIDS Conference taking place in Munich, Germany.

The report, Confronting Coercion: A global scan of coercion, mistreatment and abuse experienced by women living with HIV in reproductive and sexual health services, shows that women living with HIV face practices that undermine their bodily autonomy. Reproductive choices are monitored, and women are subjected to various coercive practices.

The report documents experiences of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) violations and violence faced by women living with HIV and women from key populations from more than 60 countries across 3 regions and offers concrete actions for the reduction of coercive practices.

“This report offers a chilling reality of what women living with HIV experience every day in their struggle to realize their full sexual and reproductive health rights,” said Charity T. Mkona, Global Coercion Scan Committee, ICW ISC Global Chairperson. "For women living with HIV who have been subjected to coercive practices, mistreatment or abuse, the ability to heal and realize their full sexual and reproductive health and rights, demands accountability and justice."

The report reveals that reproductive coercion and mistreatment of women and gender diverse people living with HIV in SRHR services are a common, persistent, and widespread issues that require urgent action. Women living with HIV who reported engagement in sex work, drug use, or had disabilities reported experiencing coercive practices at higher rates than other women living with HIV.

Younger women living with HIV and women living with HIV who were migrants were also more likely to have experienced coercive practices than older women and women who were not migrants. Women have reported experiencing a lack of confidentiality and consensual care, as well as inappropriate medical interventions, such as unnecessary caesarean sections and forced or coerced abortions. Denial of care, stigmatizing comments or insults, and various forms of abuse - verbal, emotional, physical and sexual - were also documented.

While information about sexual and reproductive health and rights of women may be supplied to them, it is not always accurate, comprehensive, or up-to-date to empower them to claim their rights and often does not reflect the realities of women's lives.

"To end coercive practices experienced by women living with HIV, we must recognize the systemic and entrenched nature of these violations and understands that reform requires a systemic sea change and culture shift that respects women's bodily autonomy.” Sophie Brion, Director of Global Programmes at ICW.

“In a world where significant scientific advancements have been made in the treatment of HIV—including breakthroughs that allow women living with HIV whose viral load is undetectable to give birth to HIV negative babies—it’s shocking that some health care workers are not informed that women living with HIV can give birth without transmitting the virus,” said Christine Stegling, UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director for Policy, Advocacy and Knowledge. “This lack of education and coercive practices, including the forced sterilization of women living with HIV, must stop immediately.”

ICW is calling on governments worldwide, including donors and ministries of health, to eliminate these harmful practices. The organization is also calling on governments to ensure that health systems support women living with HIV to realize their full right to health, including sexual and reproductive health and rights, bodily autonomy and rights to informed consent.

"This report issues a powerful call to action to put the autonomy, desires and needs of women living with HIV at the centre of their sexual and reproductive health care programmes." said Immaculate Owomugisha Bazare, Global Coercion Scan Committee,  ICW Global Steering Committee Member.

Background

The Confronting Coercion report was developed through a blend of qualitative and quantitative research, incorporating insights from a gendered analysis of recent Stigma Index 2.0 data, a desk review of literature, and a qualitative study involving women, trans and gender non-binary people living with HIV who shared experiences of reproductive coercion over the past 3 years. The qualitative part of the study looked at coercion, mistreatment and neglect related to the SRHR of women and gender diverse people living with HIV in HIV, SRH and maternity care settings.

UNAIDS has supported the development of the report to address systematic gender inequalities, in particular gender-based discrimination and violence against women living with HIV, which fuels the HIV epidemic.