For Immediate Release:	November 30, 2004
For More Information:	Michelle Linder, Amnesty International USA, mlinder@aiusa.org, 212/ 633 4268
Sponsor Organization:	Amnesty International (AI)
New report by Amnesty International offers a human rights analysis of the gender-specific factors that put women at risk of contracting HIV/AIDS
(New York) – HIV/AIDS is a human rights catastrophe that now affects significantly more young women than men in part because violence against women and girls is fueling the spread of the virus. In a new report Women, HIV/AIDS and Human Rights, published ahead of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, Amnesty International (AI) offers a human rights analysis of the gender-specific factors that put women at risk of contracting HIV/AIDS. “Due to harmful practices like early marriage, wife inheritance and female genital mutilation and the use of rape as a tool of war, the spread of HIV/AIDS among females and violence against women are becoming two sides of the same coin in some areas,” explained Curt Goering, Senior Deputy Executive Director of Amnesty International USA (AIUSA). “Governments cannot claim to be serious about one without addressing the other.” Mass rape and sexual violence in conflicts drive the HIV pandemic in countries from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to Colombia. In the DRC, where tens of thousands of women were raped during the conflict, the health system has completely collapsed with only eight percent of donated blood being tested before use in transfusions. A similar public health crisis could emerge in the war-torn region of Darfur in Sudan, where rape and sexual violence are being used as a weapon of war. The majority of women in Darfur have also undergone female genital mutilation, a factor putting them at increased risk of infection. In many parts of the world women often refrain from seeking medical treatment following rape because they fear being identified as rape victims and ostracized within their communities. In Colombia, Amnesty International has received testimonies about people from stigmatized groups, including those thought to have HIV/AIDS, who have “disappeared” or been persecuted or killed. Additionally, many women and girls lack awareness of how to protect themselves from HIV/AIDS. In Ethiopia, for example, some 80% of young married women have had no education and are unable to read. Ensuring access to education, including raising awareness about sex, health and HIV/AIDS, is fundamental to protecting the right of girls and women. “The international community has a responsibility to contribute material support,” urged Sheila Dauer, Director of AIUSA’s Women’s Human Rights Program. “In the DRC, for example the US government should help create and contribute to an emergency medical program for rape survivors and contribute to an expert mission to assess the priority needs of the DRC’s health care system as the basis of a joint reconstruction plan with international donor assistance.” To fight the spread of HIV/AIDS governments must take effective measures to: • Increase awareness of HIV/AIDS and ensure access to anti-retroviral drugs and appropriate medical care; • Stop violence against women; • Ensure education for women and girls, including information about health and sexuality; • Increase economic empowerment of women; • Undertake more effective public information campaigns to fight the stigma about HIV/AIDS. “Discrimination and unequal power relations make it more difficult for women and girls to control their lives and their own sexuality, including negotiating safer sex,” concluded Dauer. “Women must be empowered to act effectively in their own best interests.” ###