Globally, persons with disabilities are among the most vulnerable members of society, facing
all the structural risks of HIV/STIs including high rates of poverty, illiteracy or inadequate
educational achievement, lack of access to health resources, and significant levels of
exclusion, stigma and discrimination. The following summarises some of the main challenges
they face in relation to SRHR
Sexual and reproductive health and human rights of women living with HIV
Abstract
Introduction
Many women living with HIV can have safe, healthy and satisfying sexual and reproductive health, but there is still a long way to go for this to be a reality, especially for the most vulnerable amongst them who face repeated violations of their rights.
Discussion
The contributions in this Supplement from researchers, clinicians, programme managers, policy makers, and women living with HIV demands an important appreciation that the field of sexual and reproductive health and human rights for women living with HIV is complex on many levels, and women living with HIV form a very diverse community.
Conclusions
The manuscripts emphasize that attention must be paid to the following critical dimensions: 1) Placing human
rights and gender equality at the centre of a comprehensive approach to health programming, in particular in relation to sexuality and sexual health; 2) Ensuring health systems responsiveness to minimizing inequalities in access to health care and quality of care that often do not meet the needs of women living with HIV; 3) Engaging and empowering women living with HIV in the development of policies and programmes that affect them; and 4) Strengthening monitoring, evaluation and accountability procedures to provide good quality data and ensuring remedies for violations of health and human rights of women living with HIV.
Holistic, community-led, participatory and rights-based approaches to addressing the links between violence against women and girls, and HIV
There is increasing recognition that violence against women is a barrier to sexual and reproductive health and rights,
and a cause and consequence of HIV. In this viewpoint, we describe the recently published Action Linking Initiatives onViolence Against Women and HIV Everywhere (ALIV[H]E) framework [1]. The potential of this framework is explored in terms of it contributing to paradigm change to achieve the sexual and reproductive health rights of women experiencing, or living in contexts of, violence and/or HIV. We go on to suggest that a holistic approach to research and evaluation is vital to strengthen learning and expand the evidence base on violence against women and HIV
Community participation in addressing GBV and HIV