Abstract #222  -  Mitigating Womens Vulnerability to Gender-Based Violence and HIV by Focusing on Informal Social Networks: Insights from India
Authors:   Presenting Author:   Dr. Suneeta Krishnan - RTI International
Additional Authors:  Ms. Karuna Chibber, Mr. Sujit Rathod, Ms. Kalyani Subbiah, Ms.  Sajida  Khanum,
Aim: The association between womens exposure to gender-based violence (GBV) and susceptibility to HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is gaining recognition. GBV is likely to increase womens susceptibility to HIV by enhancing the risk of transmission through exposure to sexual trauma and by limiting womens ability to negotiate sex and condom use. Further, evidence suggests that GBV is associated with HIV risk behaviours among men and women, and poses a barrier to HIV testing and disclosure. However, despite a growing body of research on the association between GBV and womens susceptibility to HIV, critical gaps remain, including data on intervention approaches that may effectively reduce womens vulnerability to GBV and HIV. Our mixed methods study explored womens responses to and coping strategies in the face of a range of conflict situations in their marital relationships in order to identify potentially effective intervention approaches.
Method / Issue: We enrolled 744 married women, aged 16-25, residing in low-income communities in Bengaluru, India, beginning in 2005. Quantitative data on gender-based power and reproductive health, including experience of and responses to GBV were collected at enrolment, 12 and 24 months. To better understand womens experiences of and responses to GBV and the nuances in their help-seeking behaviors, we subsequently conducted in-depth interviews with 30 study participants who had reported a history of GBV. Drawing upon descriptive statistics and using grounded theorys constant comparative method we analyzed womens experiences and responses to GBV.
Results / Comments: Our study revealed that although women engaged in a range of responses to GBV, they primarily relied on informal social networks rather than external sources of support. Women responses typically included at least one of several actions: passive responses (72.1%) such as doing nothing, crying, or refusing to talk or eat; active responses (91.4%) such as verbal or physical confrontation, or refusing to cook or have sex; or external responses (84.2%) that include leaving the home and talking to friends or family members. During in-depth interviews with study participants who had reported a history of martial conflict, women described reaching out to natal and marital family members, particularly mothers, aunts, sisters, and mothers-in-law, when in need of external intervention. Members of these informal social networks were perceived as having the ability to admonish the husband either directly or by talking with an elder in the husbands family and to impress upon him the importance of not abusing his wife. At a minimum, by sharing with these family members women felt their burden [of conflict] becomes less. Women refrained from seeking the support of formal service providers due to: limited awareness about external support agencies; perceptions that these agencies have no motivation or responsibility to prevent and manage conflict; and fear of exacerbation of violence from confidentiality violations.
Discussion: Given the high prevalence of GBV and women�s reliance on their family, it is imperative to develop and test the effectiveness of novel interventions that include family members in preventing violence against women, and more broadly in reducing women�s susceptibility to HIV.
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