Africa/Global: To Stop AIDS, End Violence Against Women

Chances are you know a woman who has survived physical or sexual assault. Perhaps that woman is you. Chances are also high that you or someone you know is living with HIV/AIDS. Last week the world commemorated World AIDS Day. The 2005 theme, “Keep the Promise,” exhorts us to fulfill promises made by the 2001 UN General Assembly Special Session and its Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS. The Declaration recognized many factors that perpetuate HIV/AIDS, including violence against women. The promises made in the Declaration included that by 2005 governments would develop and implement “national strategies for women’s empowerment” and support the elimination of “all forms of violence against women and girls.” But, have these promises been kept?