Publications

Stand up for the Human Rights of Women Living with HIV

10^th December 2118 – Kampala – Uganda: The International Community of Women Living Eastern Africa (ICWEA) joins the rest of the world to commemorate the International Human Rights Day, which is the anniversary of the day that the United Nations General Assembly adopted, in 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and this marks the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

With the theme “Stand Up For Human Rights”, ICWEA has continued to create human rights awareness among our members so that they are able to stand up for their rights and this day we celebrate the so many achievements that we have in the past year registered including but not limited to ensuring that women living with HIV in all our diversity under the Woman Today continue to engage to ensure that human rights are at the core policy making, programming and implementation.

Violence is real in the lives of women and girls, at least 1 out of 3 women experience violence in their lifetime. It is also documented that an estimated 35% of women worldwide have experienced either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or sexual violence by a non-partner (not including sexual harassment) at some point in their lives.[1]  Globally, as many as 38% of murders of women are committed by an intimate partner.

Studies by the International Community of Women living with HIV (ICW) in India found that HIV positive women using reproductive health services were pinched, punched and scolded by health workers during procedures because of their HIV status.

[1] World Health Organization, Department of Reproductive Health and Research, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, South African Medical Research Council (2013). Global and regional estimates of violence against women: prevalence and health effects of intimate partner violence and non-partner sexual violence,