WUNRN
Direct Link to Full 77-Page Publication:
http://www.unaids.org/en/resources/documents/2014/womenlivingwithhivspeakout
IN THE NAME OF TRADITION AND CULTURE
Annie Banda - Coalition of Women Living with HIV and AIDS, Malawi,
Hajjarah Nagadya - International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS (ICW) Eastern Africa, Uganda
Martha Tholanah - ICW Southern Africa, Zimbabwe
Violence against women and girls, particularly those living with
HIV, remains widespread in all eastern and southern African
countries, cutting across class, tradition and culture. This
violence is deeply present and ingrained in our daily lives, and
it often is sustained by cultures that ignore, condone, justify or
encourage it in the name of tradition.
The main challenge is that in patriarchal societies, the cultural
norm of masculinity is one of the key drivers of violence against
women, leading some men to believe that they can treat women
as their personal property. Unequal and often violent treatment
of women has gone on for so long that many women and girls
just accept it as part of their culture. Many have not known any
other way of being treated.
As women and girls living with HIV, we face violence in our
homes, our churches and places of worship, our workplaces,
our schools and our health-care facilities. These places, which
should be safe havens where we can seek care and support, can
become places of violence, hurt and judgement (1)………