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Nov. 25 begins awareness campaign of HIV, gender-based violence

Gender-based violence increases women's vulnerability to HIV through forced sex and limited access to prevention; HIV-positive individuals, especially women, may face more violence due to stigma and power imbalances 

As November 25 marks the beginning of the 16 Days of Activism to End Gender-Based Violence, the beginning of HIV Awareness Week, and the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, several community organizations came together at Tom Davies Square for a proclamation from Mayor Paul Lefebvre and the words of activist Marvelous Muchenje. 

While prevention and treatment for HIV is available to most, many people face barriers in accessing those resources. A speaker at the Nov. 25 event said those barriers are different for different people. 

For those with HIV, the prejudice people with HIV still face in society can be a barrier to accessing treatment because then the person has to admit they have what they’ve been trying to hide. For people facing intimate partner violence, the barrier can be the partner preventing them from seeking treatment in order to hide the violence occurring in the home. 

While these are different situations, they intersect around a person’s inability to access treatment for whatever reason.

HIV Awareness Week takes place every year during the last week of November, leading up to Dec. 1, which marks World AIDS Day, a global initiative focused on honouring those living with HIV and those who have passed away. The focus of the week is to provide education about prevention, testing pathways and inform people of the advancements in treatment.

But it's the intersection of gender violence and the potential for HIV infection or lack of care that is the focus for this year. 

Organizers, including the Réseau ACCESS Network, SWANS (Sex Workers Advisory Network of Sudbury) and YWCA Genevra House, stated in a release that HIV and gender-based violence are interconnected. 

“With gender-based violence increasing women's vulnerability to HIV through forced sex, lack of control, and limited access to prevention. HIV-positive individuals, especially women, may face more violence due to stigma and power imbalances,” states a release from the organizers. 

More than 63,000 individuals are currently living with HIV in Canada, 14 per cent of whom are unaware of their HIV status.

The keynote speaker at the event was Muchenje, a PhD student of social work at the University of Toronto, an activist with background in sexual and reproductive rights, as well as a writer and motivational speaker. She is HIV positive, diagnosed in her home country of Zimbabwe in 1995. 

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Marvelous Muchenje, seen here Nov. 25, is a PhD student of social work at the University of Toronto, an activist with background in sexual and reproductive rights, as well as a writer and motivational speaker. She is HIV positive, diagnosed in her home country of Zimbabwe in 1995. She told attendees that violence against women and girls is a universal issue, but often forgotten is that gender based violence increases the risk of HIV unprotected sex and increases the risk of HIV transmission. . Jenny Lamothe / Sudbury.com

She told attendees that 16 days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence is a reminder that violence against women and girls is a universal issue, but often forgotten is that gender based violence increases the risk of HIV unprotected sex and increases the risk of HIV transmission. “Women and girls who experience violence are more likely to be forced into unprotected sex, have limited access to health care, and face [prejudice] and shame that prevents them from seeking help,” Muchenje said. 

“This intersection is personal to me. As a woman living with HIV, I faced discrimination, stigma and violence. I've been told that I'm dirty, I'm unclean, I'm a sinner who deserves to be punished and that I don't deserve love or respect. But I'm here to tell you that is not true. Everyone living with HIV deserves love, respect and dignity, regardless of their HIV status or our experiences of violence.”

She said that it is important to acknowledge this intersection if the community is to treat the virus and the epidemic properly, but also to combat the prejudice that can actually prevent people who may need treatment from seeking it. 

“HIV does not kill, it is the stigma that kills,” said Muchenje. “Let's affirm our vision for Canada where no woman lives in fear of violence, and central to this vision is the need to access non-judgmental HIV prevention. Together, we can forge a future free from gender-based violence, free of HIV.” 

Though the treatments for HIV have improved greatly over the years and those who are properly medicated can no longer transmit the disease or face a death sentence, there are still infections happening.  

“The reason why we see people diagnosed with HIV is because of the stigma. There's so much stigma associated with HIV. People just think it's ‘those’ people that get affected, and not us;  

They say, ‘I'm married,’ ‘I go to church’, but I'm sorry, HIV doesn't choose.” 

She said she believes the reason why people don't disclose their HIV status, or want to know it,  is because of the prejudice they would face. 

She said the important work is “to prevent new infections, to support those living with HIV, and to challenge the … discrimination that prevents people from accessing the care that they need.”

Attendees and speakers were dressed either in a red scarf or a purple one; red to associate with the Réseau ACCESS Network campaign and the purple as the official colour of The Wrapped in Courage campaign 

Speaking on behalf of the YWCA Genevra House, an emergency shelter for women escaping abuse from their intimate partners was Marlene Gorman, executive director. She told the group that more than one in three Canadian women experience intimate partner violence in their lifetime.

 “We encourage you to wear a purple scarf,” she said. “Each scarf and the flag we're raising in the courtyard represents a vital thread in our collective commitment to stand against violence and support survivors.” 

A purple flag was raised in the Tom Davies courtyard after the proclamation ceremony. 

As a call to action, Mucheje said that the community needs to prioritize HIV prevention and treatment, especially for women facing gender or intimate partner violence. “We must ensure that everyone has access to prevention, condoms, testing and treatment,” she said. “We must also prioritize harm reduction services to people who use drugs and address the social and structural barriers that increase our risk of infection.”

Jenny Lamothe Covers vulnerable and marginalized populations for Sudbury.com.



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