By Ojoma Akor
Experts have said that gender-based violence not only violates the human rights of women and girls but also exposes them to the risk of acquiring HIV and other infections.
They stated this during a special SHE & Rights (Sexual Health with Equity & Rights) session held during the 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence, and ahead of International Human Rights Day and UHC Day, on the theme: “Why is there hardly any change in violence against women since 2000? #ItsTimeForAccountability”
Esther Asuquo, gender and peace advocate, African Girls Empowerment Network (AGE Network), Nigeria, said gender-based violence and HIV create a nexus or a cycle of violence, stigma, and discrimination.
She said, “Gender-based violence increases risk for women and girls of forced sex, physical trauma, sexual violence, including intimate partner violence, rape, and physical trauma. Gender-based violence also increases the inability to negotiate safer sex among young women and girls.”
Albertina Nyatsi, Founder Director, Positive Women Together in Action Eswatini, who led CNS at Africa’s largest AIDS and STIs conference (ICASA 2025), Ghana, said HIV stigma/discrimination fuels gender-based violence, creating a vicious cycle where fear, power imbalances, and lack of resources prevent testing, treatment, and safer sex negotiation.
She said addressing this requires integrating services for gender-based violence into HIV care, empowering women, challenging gender inequality, and empowering individuals to negotiate safe practices.
She said, “The largest conference in Africa on AIDS and sexually transmitted infections (ICASA 2025) just took place in Ghana, adding, ” It is important to end all forms of gender-based violence if we are to end AIDS and deliver on the promise of gender equality by 2030. Gender-based violence and HIV are deeply intertwined. Ending female genital mutilation or cutting by 2030.”
Dr Pam Rajput, plenary keynote speaker at the SHE & Rights (Sexual Health with Equity & Rights) session, explained that violence against women and girls is a violation of human rights, rooted in gender inequality and an impediment to sustainable development.
While saying that despite all the efforts over decades to end gender-based violence, she added that “the painful reality or truth is that we are far from the goal of ending all forms of violence against women and girls.”
She said over 840 million women have faced violence globally.
“The number of women who face violence in conflict settings has doubled. In the past 12 months, 316 million women have faced physical violence or sexual abuse by their intimate partners, and 263 million women have faced it by others. Over 51,000 cases of femicide have been reported,” Dr Pam Rajput, a noted feminist and gender justice leader who currently serves as Emeritus Professor in Panjab University, added.
She is also the former Chairperson of the Government of India’s High-Level Committee on the Status of Women.
Rajput said, “Even women parliamentarians are not free of violence: in a survey, 82% of them reported facing some form of psychosocial violence. 73% of women journalists reported facing online violence, and 20% of them have even suffered offline attacks by anti-gender groups.
“We need to address structural inequalities, patriarchal norms, ‘normalisation’ of gender-based violence, consumerist neoliberal models of development, gender insensitivity of the enforcement agencies (such as police or judiciary), and under-investment in gender equality, if we are to address violence against women and girls. We demand zero tolerance for violence against women both in policy and practice.”
Shobha Shukla, SHE & Rights (Sexual Health with Equity & Rights) Coordinator and Host, and President of Asia Pacific Media Alliance for Health, Gender and Development Justice (APCAT Media), said there is no change in violence against women and girls since 2000.
Shukla said,” In the last 26 years, since the year 2000 onwards, the annual decline in intimate partner and sexual violence is abysmally low at 0.2%.
” This is unacceptable. Also, we must realise that, of the 193 countries, 165 have domestic violence laws, but only 104 have comprehensive legislative policies and laws in place. Or in other words, almost 48% countries LACK comprehensive legislative policies and laws in place to address domestic violence. Also, in those countries where laws exist, funding to address domestic violence is not adequate; rather, it has declined since 2022. So, when we read that 1 in 3 women worldwide has experienced violence at least once in her lifetime, this is a gross understatement. Actual violence rates must be very high – which is so very alarming, painful, and so very unacceptable,” added Shobha Shukla.
Dr Huda Syyed, Founder of Sahara Sisters’ Collective and part of the Asian Network to end female genital mutilation/ cutting (FGM/C), Australia, said, “All governments committed to deliver on SDGs by 2030 – one of the SDG-5 targets is to end female genital mutilation or cutting. But the UNICEF report 2024 shows that over 230 million girls and women worldwide had undergone female genital mutilation or cutting (FGM/C) – over 80 million girls and women in Asia underwent female genital mutilation or cutting in 2024. There was a 15% increase in female genital mutilation or cutting in 2024 compared to 8 years ago.
“We cannot meet SDGs when half the population is harmed, silenced, or excluded. Development justice demands that policies centre women’s safety, agency, and bodily integrity.”
According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), FGM/C can never be ‘safe,’ and there is no medical justification for the practice. Under any circumstances, FGM/C violates the right to health, the right to be free from violence, the right to life and physical integrity, the right to non-discrimination, and the right to be free from cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment. When performed in a clinical setting, FGM/C violates medical ethics.
“Ending female genital mutilation or cutting in Asia and globally is not a marginal issue; rather, it is a central issue to gender and development justice, as well as central to bodily autonomy, public health, right to equality, human rights, children’s rights, and girl child rights. Patriarchal notions of women’s bodies, which are shaped into shame and secrecy, need to be challenged and dismantled,” Dr Huda Syyed added.
Also, Alanna France, currently studying an MSc in Women’s Health at University College London, said, “All-In Initiative was launched a few days ago, focused on ending gender-based violence. All-in initiative aims to drive leadership, accountability, and support effective existing solutions to reduce and ultimately end gender-based violence.”
“Gender-based violence is not inevitable – rather, it is entirely preventable. We already know what works. When the UK funded what works to reduce gender-based violence, then it demonstrated reductions in gender-based violence of up to 50% within just 2-3 years across 15 low- and middle-income countries,” added Alanna. “Many estimates already put the global costs of violence against women at around US$ 1.5 trillion per year; however, the real figure is likely even higher.”
The “ESSENCE: Insights and Impact from 25 years of HIV & AIDS Initiatives of Humana People to People India (2001–2025)” report was launched during the 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence and ahead of Human Rights Day and Universal Health Coverage Day.
Lisbeth Aarup, Head of Project Development of Humana People to People India, said that for the last 25 years, Humana has worked in India with HIV affected communities to reduce stigma and discrimination related to HIV, as well as address physical and mental violence.
Also, Dr. Sugata Mukhopadhyay, a noted public health expert, said: “Humana addressed critical structural issues regularly, which often create hindrances to service utilisation by the underserved communities like stigma, discrimination, gender inequity, violation of human rights, gender-based violence, and social exclusion.”
Ramphool Sharma of Humana People to People India said sex workers are challenged with not only gender-based violence but also the criminalisation of sex work.
“They face multiple vulnerabilities which put them at risk of not only physical violence but also sexual violence, economic violence, rape, risk of infections when clients refuse to use a condom, and other forms of abuse. Sex workers also have few options when it comes to seeking justice,” Sharma added.
