Rapid Results Available for HIV Testing

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Health News

Friday, 25 March 2011 02:29

By caribarena news

Antigua, St John's - The Directorate of Gender Affairs will be partnering with the AIDS Secretariat to offer free HIV counseling and testing on March 30, from 9 am to 2 pm. All those who attend will receive same-day results.

This initiative is supported by UN Women, working with Gender Affairs to explore the relationship between HIV and Gender-Based Violence (GBV), as two issues which significantly impact the lives of Antiguans & Barbudans. Research into the interconnectedness of HIV and GBV is increasing worldwide, revealing that these social concerns are both a cause and a consequence of one another.

Sexual violence is the most direct link between GBV and HIV. Globally, it is estimated that one in every three females is physically or sexually abused in her lifetime. It is estimated in the US that as many as 10 percent of men are sexually assaulted at some point, even more so men who have sex with men (MSM). Sexual violence exponentially increases one’s risk to HIV.

More than 80 percent of new HIV infections in women takes place in marriage or long-term relationships around the world, where intimate partner violence is likely.

Male prisons are hyper-masculine environments where sexual violence is often used as a form of punishment and intimidation. As most prisoners are not prisoners for life, if they contract HIV while incarcerated, they are more likely to transmit the illness to others upon their release.

When women reveal that they are HIV positive, they face the risk of abandonment by their partners, families, and friends, as well as violence due to their HIV status. Violence, and the threat or fear of violence can prevent a woman, even a woman in a consensual union, from insisting on condom use or refusing unwanted sex.

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Since GBV impacts women’s willingness to be tested, it also detrimentally impacts HIV control, treatment, and prevention of mother to child transmission.

People interested in learning their status, gaining information on how to live positively, and living lives free from violence are encouraged to attend. Counselors will be on location to address issues of GBV and provide additional information on HIV care, treatment, and support.

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