South Africa: ‘I am at the lowest end of all’. Rural women living with HIV face human rights abuses in South Africa
South Africa: ‘I am at the lowest end of all’. Rural women living with HIV face human rights abuses in South Africa
Index Number: AFR 53/001/2008Date Published: 18 March 2008
Categories: South Africa
This report provides an analysis of patterns of human rights abuses against women who are exposed to the risk of or are already living with HIV in rural contexts of widespread poverty and unemployment. It draws on the testimonies of 37 women who, to varying extents, had experienced incidents of violence from intimate partners or strangers, were unable to secure a stable income, faced periods of hunger, but were striving to maintain their access to health services and adhere to treatment despite the consequences of poverty, stigma and their low social status.