One of the key settings that is often a point of contact for women, including survivors of violence and HIV positive women, is health systems. It is for this reason that it is critical that an essential package of services delivered should be part of a comprehensive response to the two interlinked crises of HIV and violence against women and girls. What does this entail?

Firstly, all services must be gender sensitive and rights based, and no service should be mandatory. And these should be provided in line with human rights principles of being non-discriminatory, acceptable, accessible, and of the highest quality. The actual services should include voluntary counselling and testing centres, primary health car, family planning clinics; antenatal and post natal clinics, STI clinics, rape crisis/gender violence recovery centers, etc.

Protocols and integrated services need to be instituted so that if a woman presents as HIV-positive or wants to be tested for HIV, she is also screened for violence, and if a woman presents with signs or injury from violence she is also counselled and screened for HIV. If this is to have real impact, antenatal and postnatal clinics must, especially, adopt protocols and health providers must be trained and equipped to screen women for violence and respond to it, as it has been established that pregnant women’s risk for violence is heightened. Some of these services include, screening for violence, referrals and follow up for those who face violence, PEP, emergency contraception, safe and legal abortion, family planning, ART, etc.

All services must be voluntary, non-coercive and must be premised on privacy, confidentiality, informed choice and informed decision making by women and girls. For 3 years the Women WON’T wait. End HIV and Violence Against Women. NOW. campaign has monitored policies and practices of multilateral and bilateral agencies to see if a response to violence against women and girls has been integrated in their HIV portfolios, plans and programmes. There has been notable progress on the recognition of the link between violence against women and girls and HIV; some agencies have fared better than others in the last year. However, this recognition itself overdue, has not yet translated in to delivery of integrated services. In response to this gap, the campaign will release guidelines on an essential package of services soon.

* Neelanjana Mukhia works with ActionAid as the international women’s rights policy and campaign coordinator and manages the international secretariat for the Women WON’T wait. End HIV and Violence Against Women. NOW. Campaign