Resum

This document, which served to frame the dialogue of the Virtual Forum on Violence against Women Living with HIV, convened in November 2010, presents and analyzes current definitions, data and practices regarding the problem of violence against women living with HIV/AIDS, while exploring the strategic implications for research, advocacy and programming. The domain of violence against HIV positive women is an arena for developing explanatory paradigms on VAW and HIV in sets of social relations that produce and reproduce inequalities from difference. It is the analysis of the social context of inequality that tells us why and how living with HIV can be a predictor of women experiencing violence by partners, family members, community members and service providers, among others. Obtaining information on violence against HIV positive women has proven cumbersome due in part to a lack of systematic research on this issue and a failure to categorize violence as a consequence of HIV positive diagnosis. As pointed out by the authors, the subject is sometimes framed under the headings 'stigma and discrimination' and/or 'violation of sexual and reproductive rights'. Although scarce, the available data provides important insights into the dimensions of the problem. Currently, there are only a few initiatives worldwide designed to respond to violence against positive women. Consequently, although there is some evidence regarding promising practices in different settings and with diverse groups of positive women, it is limited.