The International Community of Women Living with HIV Eastern Africa (ICWEA) has disseminated findings of the study on violations of Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) of Women living with HIV in Clinical and Community Settings in Uganda, with special focus on forced and coerced sterilization. ICWEA has also launched a campaign to end Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights violations, HIV criminalization and widening of contraception choices for women living with HIV.
This study is part of the implementation of a project – “Link UP: Better sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights for Young People most affected by HIV in Uganda”, funded by STOP AIDS NOW.
It was conducted in 2014, in nine districts of Uganda and involved a field survey targeting among others 744 women living with HIV aged 15-49 years, who had ever used any form of family planning method. The majority of the women had a partner (58%). Their education level was relatively low; 11% didn’t go to school and 54% of the women attended primary school only. Most women were selected from rural areas (39%), followed by small towns (32%) and urban areas (29%).
The aim of the study was to; document the experiences of women of reproductive age who are living with HIV focusing on forced/coerced medical sterilization and other SRHR violations, identify the social, psychological and financial effects of coerced/forced sterilization and other SRHR violations of women living with HIV; identify the immediate and long-term support needs of women living with HIV who have experienced SRHR violations and; suggest policy and/or programme initiatives to promote SRHR of women living with HIV&AIDS in clinical settings in Uganda.
While women living with HIV like any other women who are not HIV-positive share similar sexual and reproductive health rights that should be observed by all stakeholders. This study found that women living with HIV experience a wide range of sexual and reproductive health rights violations in clinical settings, their homes as well as in their communities. The violations range from misinformation regarding their Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR), mistreatment/abuse during the process of seeking reproductive health services, especially maternal health services from health facilities, and coerced and/or forced sterilization.
“Women living with HIV like any other woman have a right to decide how many children they want to have, sexual privacy, a right to information and knowledge regarding their sexual and reproductive health needs. We have evidence to show that, that is not the case. Women are instead being forced or coerced into sterilization,” Lillian Mworeko, Executive Director, ICWEA.
ICWEA recommends a number of things to end these violations including capacity building and sensitization of health workers on the provision of quality and non-discriminatory care, encouraging them to provide the right information to women living with HIV as well as adhering to the ethics of modern health care anchored in the principle of informed consent and respect for human rights.
Government and civil society should undertake skills enhancement of women living with HIV to increase their ability to negotiate and resist the violations and seek legal redress whenever such violations occur;
There should be community dialogues involving massive campaign and sensitization of communities especially men to increase their knowledge and appreciation of the SRHR of women living with HIV.
Institutions and mechanisms for supporting women living with HIV should be facilitated, there should also be legal and policy review and development to pay attention to SRHR violations of women living with HIV and guidelines for physicians on procedures for emergency tubal legation should be reviewed.
Based on the study, ICWEA is today launching a campaign dubbed “A beat to end sexual reproductive health rights violations, HIV criminalization and widening of contraception choices and options for women living with HIV”.
“The campaign will last one year and will run in five East African countries (Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania), where ICWEA operates. This campaign is an opportunity and a call to beat the drum against these injustices to women loud enough for them to come to an end,” says Brenda Banura, Communications Officer, ICWEA.
