Sexuality, Violence And Hiv/Aids In Nigeria

By

Ejiro Joyce Otive-Igbuzor

ejiro_otive@yahoo.co.uk

COUNTRY DIRECTOR, CENTRE FOR DEVELOPMENT AND POPULATION ACTIVITIES, NIGERA

 

SUMMARY

The high rates of HIV infection among women and young people calls for a critical examination of the factors that fuel the pandemic despite increased political and extensive donor support. Nigeria’s HIV/AIDS epidemic is one of the most rapidly expanding in West Africa and her 5.0% prevalence (FMOH, 2003) translates to over 11 percent of the global burden.

Violence Against Women has emerged as a pandemic comparable to and in some cases more intensive than HIV&AIDS and malaria (WHO, 2002). Recent estimates show that globally, one in every three women will be raped, beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused in her lifetime (Heyzer, 2003). In the public sphere, gender-based violence has received a lot of attention in the recent past but domestic violence is often trivialized as a normal part of family life. Since 80% of all infections in Nigeria is reported to result from heterosexual activities (Akinsete, 2001), an understanding of the dynamics that perpetually place young people especially girls at risk is fundamental to successful response.

This paper amongst other things showcases HIV/AIDS as a gender issue and posits that programmatic activities must focus on gender equality as a central theme in order to make an impact. It further establishes that just like gender, sexuality and sexual relations are socially constructed and are dynamic. In addition to exploring the various forms of violence perpetrated against women and girls, it highlights violence as both a cause and consequence of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Nigeria. It concludes by recommending interventions to break the cycle of violence in order to control the epidemic.

INTRODUCTION

Numerous international documents have addressed issues related to violence, human rights and HIV&AIDS. The UN declared 1975 the International Women’s Year.  This ushered in the UN Decade for Women, which spanned the period, 1976-1985. The concept of women’s rights was given pre-eminence during this period and by 1979, the UN adopted the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women. In its general recommendation on violence against women, the CEDAW committee recognises gender-based violence as a form of discrimination against women that impairs and nullifies women’s enjoyment of their rights to life, and to the highest  attainable standard of physical and mental health.

During the period 1975-1985, three important women’s conferences were convened in Mexico, 1975, Copenhagen, 1980 and Nairobi in 1985.  As posited by Charlotte Bunch, “these conferences were critical venues at which women came together, debated their differences, and discovered their commonalties and gradually began learning to bridge differences to create a global movement”  (Otive-Igbuzor, 2002).

The UN General Assembly in 1993 adopted a Declaration on the Elimination of all Forms of Violence Against Women.  This document describes violence against women (VAW) as “a manifestation of historically unequal power relations between men and women which have led to domination over and discrimination against women by men. VAW is defined as any act that violates the rights and fundamental freedoms of women.  Article 1 of this declaration recognizes VAW as any act that results or is likely to result in physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation.  Article 2 lists – battering, sexual abuse of children in the household, dowry – related violence, marital rape, Female Genital Multilation (FGM) other traditional practices that are harmful to women, non-spousal violence, exploitation, women trafficking, rape, sexual harassment and intimidation at work, educational institutes and deprivation of women from enjoying all other rights.

In 1994, the UN held another conference in Cairo.  This Conference had tremendous importance for women’s health because for the first time, a UN document clearly delineated the components of reproductive rights (and sexual rights) to include:

§         The right of couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing and timing of their children and to have the information and means to do so;

§         The right to attain the highest standard of sexual and reproductive health and the right to the information that makes this possible;

§         The right to make decisions concerning reproduction free of discrimination, coercion and violence.

The International Women’s Health Coalition (IWHC) has listed sexual rights to include:

(1)    Full respect for the physical integrity of the human body.

(2)    The right to the highest standard of sexual and reproductive health.

(3)    The right to necessary information and services with full respect for confidentiality and

(4)    The right to make decision concerning sexuality and reproduction, free of coercion, discrimination and violence.

For the first time, the role of men in bringing about gender equality was highlighted.  The document also proposed the encouragement of men to take responsibility for their sexual behaviour, their fertility, the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and the welfare of their partners, as well as the children they father.

In 1995, violence against women also emerged as one of the twelve critical areas of concern at the Beijing Conference. The Beijing PFA posits that women and girls are subjected to physical, sexual and psychological abuse that cuts across lines of income, class and culture.  (Beijing PFA, p112). Though GBV has gained more visibility and legislation worldwide, domestic violence remains unopposed (WEDO, 2005).

EXPLORING VARIOUS FORMS OF GENDER BASED VIOLENCE (GBV)

Several forms of GBV have been described and categorized broadly as: sexual violence, emotional and psychological violence, and physical violence. Sexual violence is highly diversified and includes: early marriage/sex, defilement, early pregnancy, forced abortion, rape including marital rape, incest, forced prostitution and sexual harassment. The latter appears in many forms ranging from jeering, indecent sexual propositions, use of sexual language in ways degrading to women, sexist jokes, indecent body touching. This could also manifest itself in refusal of employment, threat of sack, threat of failure at school etc. A recent study commissioned by ActionAid International Nigeria (2004) on Violence Against Women And Access To Girl-Child Education in Nigeria   demonstrates that early marriage and early pregnancy are not uncommon in Nigeria. According to the report, ‘these usually take on a forced character as they are supported by cultural (including religious culture) mores and standards that permit marriage of minors at the instance of their parents or lawful guardian and even in the absence of their consent. Allegations of widespread sexual harassment of female students in Nigerian schools led the Federal Government to set-up the Committee on Sexual Harassment in Educational Institutions in March 1989’.

Rape has been described as sexual intercourse that involves force, threat, blackmail, deceit or coercion (Baobab, 1999).  All forms of non-consensual sex even when it happens within the confines of marriage is rape. This includes sex with a minor whose consent cannot be regarded as informed. Rape is highly underreported in Nigeria because of stigmatization. It is usually perpetrated by close associates and trusted family members as well as criminals in the larger society.  It is instructive to note that several helpless women were raped in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria by Federal troops, during peace-keeping (?) missions in several communities:  Odi, Ogoni, Oleh etc (Otive-Igbuzor, 2003).

Trafficking in persons is an acknowledged crime against humanity.  Article 3 of the Protocol on Trafficking in Persons defines it as recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons by means of threat or the use of force or other forms of coercion, abduction, fraud or deception, the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person for the purpose of exploitation. Trafficking has assumed unprecedented dimensions with an annual total of over 2 million women and children trafficked globally, many of who are at great risk of sexual abuse (UNFPA, 2005). Today, over 45,000 Nigerian girls are trafficked annually and eighty percent of an estimated 18,000 prostitutes in Italy are Nigerians (UNHCR, 2002). In addition, internal trafficking is prevalent in Nigeria. In a localized study in 1996, ILO found that 4,000 children were trafficked form Cross River State to other Nigerian states or other countries in the region (10).

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences identifies several human rights violations associated with trafficking. The Special Rapporteur reports that

“in particular, rape and other forms of sexual violence are often used to break trafficked women physically, mentally and emotionally to obtain their forced compliance in situations of forced labour and slave-like practices.”

Victims of trafficking often face further abuse by police, immigration and prison officials when arrested or repatriated.

Psychological/Emotional violence manifests itself as discrimination, lack of respect for women and their rights to decide, the use of force, restriction of movement, use of abusive language, derogatory remarks etc.  In Africa, some forms of widowhood rights constitute emotional trauma for women. In some cultures, widows are accused unjustly of killing their husbands and are made to drink the corpses’ bath water. Wife inheritance is a common practice in Nigeria and in most instances, it is non-consensual. Consent is sometimes obtained through threats and intimidation. Other forms of psychological and emotional violence include denial of right to inherit or own property, denial of the right to education, information and female genital mutilation.

Physical violence manifests as wife or child battery, child labour including hawking and excessive housework burden for the girl-child with its attendant negative consequences (ActionAid International Nigeria, 2004).

HIV/AIDS IN NIGERIA

 

HIV&AIDS constitutes the greatest threat to Africa’s development today, killing more people than wars ad famine combined.  It is the fourth biggest killer worldwide but ranks as the leading cause of death in sub-Saharan Africa where death from HIV-1 infection in adults is said to have surpassed that of malaria ((Otive-Igbuzor, 2003). Nigeria bears more than a fair share of the global burden accounting for over 4 million out of a global total of about 40 million.  It is estimated that half of all new infections occur in young people. (UNDP, 2004)

The HIV&AIDS epidemic is becoming increasingly feminized globally as women and girls are more vulnerable to infection and bear the burden of care for infected family and community members. Young women make up 60% of all 15-24 year olds living with HIV&AIDS and of all the regions of the world, only in sub-Saharan Africa do we find more women (57%) infected than men (UNDP, 2004).

There is a strong link between age and vulnerability to HIV&AIDS. The 2003 Sentinel Sero-prevalence survey shows a prevalence rate of 5.2 for young people. This is higher than the national average of 5.0%. (FMOH, 2003). In most parts of the world, young people are reaching puberty at earlier ages and premarital sex appears to be on the increase Poverty, gender inequalities, denial of human rights, violence, transgenerational sex and risky behaviour tend to predispose youth especially young girls to HIV infection (UNFPA, 2004).  

Since 1991 when the first Sentinel Sero-Prevalence Survey was conducted in Nigeria, there has been a steady rise in prevalence from 1.8% to 3.8% in 1994, 4.5% in 1996 and 5.8% in 2001. Only in 2003 was there a slight, statistically insignificant decrease in the adult prevalence to 5.0% with women accounting for over half (53%) of the total number (FMOH, 2003).

HIV/AIDS AS A GENDER ISSUE

In Nigeria, heterosexual transmission plays a major role in HIV infection accounting for about 80% of all infections. For women in their reproductive years, much of the burden of ill health is related to sex and reproduction.  In sub-Saharan Africa, 40% of all illnesses affecting women of reproductive age result from the processes of sex and reproduction (Otive-Igbuzor, 2003). For many women, sex carries with it, the fear of an unwanted pregnancy or an infection. Women/girls are biologically more vulnerable to HIV infection. The female reproductive system with its large mucosal surface remains in contact with genital secretions and seminal fluid for a long time (NIAID, 2004). As many sexually transmitted infections are largely asymptomatic in women, they often therefore remain untreated and result in ulcerations of the vaginal wall.  These ulcers act as routes of entry for HIV (Otive-Igbuzor, 2003)

Biological vulnerability does not provide sufficient explanation for the disparity in prevalence of HIV between men and women.  There is evidence that other factors linked with under-development:  poverty, food insecurity and gender inequity, are intricately linked with vulnerability to HIV/AIDS.

Gender has been defined an array of societal beliefs, values, norms and attitudes that determine and shape what is acceptable as masculine and feminine behaviour. Though masculinities and femininities vary from one culture to the other, they usually persist and are often tilted in favour of men (Buvinic, 1995). Socio-cultural factors are a reflection of various norms, roles, beliefs and societal expectations that guide the way of life of a people. Cultural norms are considered sacred and inviolable to a large extent especially in set-ups where such norms promote domination by some groups. The African patriarchal system is a typical example. According to Hartman, 1997, patriarchy is “ ...a set of social relations which has a material base, in which there are hierarchical relations between men and solidarity amongst them which enables them to dominate women. The material base of patriarchy is men’s control over women, labour, power”. Essential elements upon which patriarchy thrives include unequal power relations between men and women, men’s access to women’s bodies for sex, women’s economic dependence on men. These norms are enforced by societies’ institutions such as schools, workplaces, families and health systems (Wingood and Diclemente, 2000). They influence the gender division of labour as well as stereotypic constructions of masculinity and femininity.

In Nigeria, women are culturally associated with reproductive roles, which are less valued. Even though 70% of farmers are women, their contributions to national growth are hardly recognized or remunerated. They constitute the most disenfranchised group on earth. The dominant ideology of femininity in Nigeria ‘casts women in a subordinate, dependent and passive position with virginity, chastity, motherhood, moral superiority and obedience as key virtues’  (WHO, 2002). Conversely, it is considered masculine to be assertive, overbearing, domineering and violent.  In Nigeria, men are perceived as income-earners, knowledgeable and independent. Smoking, alcohol abuse, risk taking and reckless driving and aggression are masculine traits and men often have a false sense of power  and immunity.

Socio-cultural factors increase women and men’s risks and vulnerabilities. They also determine access to care, treatment and support. Several harmful traditional practices including child marriage, female genital mutilation, scarification, tattooing and wife inheritance further predispose women to HIV infection. In traditional African Societies, women function as child bearers, child rearers and caregivers and as such bear the brunt of the impact of HIV/AIDS. They readily take responsibility for their sick children, parents or spouses.  They are also saddled with the responsibility of caring for orphans and vulnerable children. This is often a difficult role, as women in many parts of Nigeria do not have access to property or right to inheritance. Girls are often withdrawn from school to help with additional income; women sometimes have to trade sex in order to get money or favours. In marriage, the pervasive fear of physical violence or divorce can totally disempower a woman (Mann, 1997). Young girls are the most vulnerable of all groups.

Gender-based power relations and gender disparities significantly affect the epidemic. Gender roles and relations are inextricably linked with the level of individual’s risks and vulnerability to HIV infection as well as the level and quality of care, treatment and support that women living with HIV&AIDS can access. A 1999 UNAIDS study revealed that HIV/AIDS programmes that address gender equality as a central goal maximize overall effectiveness (UNAIDS, 1999).

That women and girls are at the center of the HIV&AIDS epidemic is well established. This knowledge however has not particularly influenced HIV&AIDS programming in several places including Nigeria. The UN General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on HIV&AIDS in June 2001 with 180 country delegates in attendance stressed that gender equality and the empowerment of women are fundamental elements in the reduction of women and girls’ vulnerabilities to HIV&AIDS. Delegates made a commitment to intensify efforts to challenge gender stereotypes and attitudes and gender inequality in relation to HIV/AIDS, encouraging the active involvement of men and boy (UNAIDS, 2003). In addition, Millennium Development Goals 3 and 6 focus on gender equality and women and girls’ empowerment and reducing the impact of HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases. As the world misses the 1st target for MDG 3-equal school enrolment for boys and girls preferably by the year 2005, it is imperative to rethink our development strategies.

According to the World Bank, the feminization of AIDS not only reflects women’s greater physiological vulnerability to infection, but also their social and psychological vulnerability created by a set of interrelated economic, socio-cultural and legal factors. This increasing feminization of HIV and AIDS also stresses the need for policies and interventions to focus on transforming gender roles and relations between males and females to support the deep-rooted behaviour change necessary to stem the spread of HIV/AIDS (World Bank, 2004).

Commencing in November, 2004, the National Action Committee on AIDS (NACA) and the Expanded Theme Group on HIV&AIDS embarked on a National Response Review (NRR) and the development of a new National Strategic Framework (NSF) to guide the Nigerian national response for the period 2005-2009. The NRR revealed serious gender gaps in programming (NACA, 2005). In an unprecedented move in the history of HIV&AIDS responses in Africa, Nigeria took a calculated step to ensure that gender is mainstreamed in the new NSF. As a logical follow up, several organizations have allocated resources to strengthen the skills of programme planners and other stakeholders to integrate gender and human rights perspectives in their activities.

 

GENDER AND SEXUALITY

The term sexuality refers to the totality of being a person. It suggests our human character, not simply our genital acts and has implications regarding the total meaning of being a man or woman. Sexuality is concerned with the biological, psychological, sociological and spiritual variables of life that affect personality development and interpersonal relations. It includes one's self-perception, self-esteem, personal history, personality, concept of love and intimacy, body image etc (Online Glossary, 2005).

Sexuality could also be understood as a structure of ideas, an array of discourses and sensations, an embodiment of pleasures, the forming of sex object choices and the endless unfolding of categories of desire (Dorsett, 2003). An understanding of sexuality and its link with power is fundamental as it gives a broader insight into the HIV&AIDS pandemic. Gender analysis tends to give the impression that sexual transmission of HIV only occurs within the ambit of heterosexual relationships and its reproductive imperative. Much of the sexual activities that bring about HIV transmission happen outside the traditionally acknowledged realms of sexual relationships. This includes same sex activities, incest, rape, and sex work. Attempts to moralize on sexual orientation and sex work drive the epidemic underground and further increase transmission as individuals perceived to be deviants cannot access information and services for fear of being stigmatised. According to Dowsett (2003), HIV/AIDS is an epidemic of desire.

Sexuality, like gender is socially constructed. It is defined by who one has sex with, in what ways, why, under what circumstances and with what outcomes. (Gupta, 2000).  For men, the range of sexual expressions including heterosexuality and homosexuality are an important means of proving masculinity. Just like gender roles, sexual roles are unequal between the sexes and primacy is usually accorded to male desire. Women on the other hand are perceived as passive recipients of male passion. While women are socialized into believing that sex is something that happens to them, men believe that sex is something that they do to women (Doyal, 1994). Some men and boys tend to sexually abuse women and girls as a punitive measure. The frequency of rape in times of conflict and wars indicates that rapists feel a sense of morbid satisfaction with every conquest (Otive-Igbuzor, 2003).

Gender and sexual role stereotyping have negative outcomes. While men/boys are positioned to claim, enforce or buy sexual favours, women cannot decide when, how and with whom to have sex. Even when a woman knows that her partner is infected with an STI, she is often unable to refuse sexual advances or negotiate safer sex. In several cultures in Nigeria, the number of sexual partners that a man/boy can have is a proof of machismo. Men and boys are thus positioned as vectors that transmit HIV within communities. For several women, marriage contributes to their risk of infection. A Nigerian study traced women’s vulnerabilities to HIV and other sexually transmitted infections amongst women to the behaviour of their male partners (Caldwell, Orubuloye, and Caldwell, 1997)

For young boys, the fear of being thought weak by their peers drives them to experiment with sex and engage in other risky behaviours like drug and alcohol abuse with negative health consequences. In the Nigerian society, men/boys are expected to be knowledgeable about sex and sexually transmitted infections including HIV&AIDS. This impression is often maintained through pretence. Studies have shown that several men and boys harbour serious misconceptions about sexually transmitted infections (UNAIDS 2001). Women on the other hand are expected to be virginal and innocent about sex. Even when they know how to protect themselves, it would be a deviation from good behaviour to present a condom or talk about it. Whether a woman will become infected with HIV or not is thus determined by her male partner’s choices.

Sexual role stereotyping is characterized by double standards. While male promiscuity is endorsed, several forces are in alliance to snuff out women’s potential for the fulfillment of their full sexuality through various forms of intimidation and female genital mutilation (FGM) (Otive-Igbuzor, 2004) Sexuality is therefore a game of power and like gender relations, unequal sexual relations coupled with women’s economic dependence on men perpetually place men in charge of women’s lives.

Sexual attitudes are learned early in life through proper upbringing and socialisation of girls to respect and be submissive to men within the context of what is revered as our culture. It is then reinforced by misinterpretations of religious books. In Nigeria, boys learn very early to be bossy, arrogant, studious and outgoing. Stereotypes in the larger society, school systems, schoolbooks, religious groups and the media reinforce unequal gender and sexual relations.

VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN: A CAUSE OR CONSEQUENCE OF HIV&AIDS?

The feminization of AIDS has undoubtedly demonstrated that gender-based violence including sexual, emotional/psychological and physical forms of it increases women’s exposure to HIV infection in addition to placing the burden of the epidemic on their shoulders (UNIFEM, 2001).

Violence against women is both a cause and consequence of HIV&AIDS. Violence is so entrenched in a woman’s day-to-day life that it has come to be accepted and trivialized as normal. Unequal gender and sexual relations in addition to the pervading fear of violence reinforce women’s powerlessness in all spheres of sexual relationships –within marriage, child prostitution, coerced sex, rape, intergenerational sex and sex work or sex for survival. In these instances, the popular ABC model for the prevention of HIV transmission is misses the point because in the face of inequalities, a married woman cannot abstain nor negotiate safer sex (condom use). Neither can she negotiate her partner’s fidelity (even if he is monogamous). Besides, rapists do not use condoms.

In addition to women’s biological vulnerability to infection, injury to the vaginal mucosa facilitates entry of the virus. In places where Female Genital Mutilation is practiced, women stand the risk of getting infected with HIV in addition to the psychological and emotional trauma of having the clitoris removed (Otive-Igbuzor, 2004).

When women become infected, they face additional forms of violence. Many women are in danger of being beaten, abandoned or thrown out of the home (UNAIDS/UNFPA/UNIFEM, 2004). Though chastity is applauded as a feminine virtue, women are often accused of bringing infection into the home. The Ibo word for sexually transmitted infections- nsi nwayi or oria nwayi is translated literally as woman disease (UNIFEM, 2005). The coinage Mother –to- Child Transmission (MTCT) appears to endorse the aspersions cast on women as transmitters of HIV.  Most times, she is only a vehicle by which the father transmits his virus to the child. Such aspersions amount to emotional and psychological violence.  Parent-to-Child Transmission  (PTCT) appears to be a more objective coinage.

HIV positive women face further violence not just at home as mentioned above but also at work and in the larger society.  A recent study of the rights of people living with HIV&AIDS commissioned by UNAIDS/UNIFEM (2002) demonstrates that though all persons living with HIV&AIDS face violations of human rights, the situation with women is more intense. According to the report,

 a widow-PLWHA in Enugu reported that she was thrown out of her matrimonial home by her in-laws after her husband died of AIDS and three of her children who tested HIV-negative were taken away from her while she was left to fend for the one child who tested positive. She added that although she is staying with her parents, they also stigmatise and isolate her and her child and concluded that as she has no-one to take care of her, she is “only waiting for the appointed time to die.” (UNAIDS/UNIFEM, 2004).

Many women living with HIV&AIDS do not have access to quality healthcare services.  Though there has been an increase in the number of Voluntary Counseling and Testing as well as treatment centers around the country, access for a woman goes beyond availability to include issues of permission, affordability, proximity and attitude of the healthcare provider.

Cases of outright violation of the right to life are not uncommon once a person tests positive for HIV antibodies.

In Enugu State, a male PABA reported that his younger brother who contracted HIV  was poisoned by their parents who claimed they did it “to prevent shame to the family”. He recounted that because he was informed of his brother’s death barely a week after being informed of his illness, he was particularly curious about the nature of the illness which occasioned death so speedily. It was in response to his inquiries that his father told him that he considers that AIDS is an insult to the entire members of the family and instead of allowing his son’s condition to deteriorate to the point that people around would become aware of it, he decided to poison the young man (UNAIDS/UNIFEM, 2004).

A Nigerian study on the causes and management of violence against women in Nigeria reveals that 99 percent of obstetricians surveyed had managed a case of violence at some point. An estimated 7% of patients were women who had been assaulted violently. In 70% of the cases, the assailant was the husband (Aimakhu, 2004).

Cases of People Living with HIV&AIDS who have been dismissed from employment, schools or denied admission are numerous. The case of Georgina Ahamefule versus Imperial Medical Centre reveals serious and uninformed prejudices against PLWHA. Georgina was dismissed from employment at the Imperial Medical Center after she was found to be HIV-positive through non-consensual testing (UNIFEM/UNAIDS, 2004).

When sexuality is limited or controlled by violence or the fear of it, women and girls (especially younger girls) become powerless. HIV transmission is bound to occur. When family members abandon a HIV positive person to the care of a woman, it is violence! Once infected, a woman faces new forms of violence – accusation, battery, being thrown out, being poisoned and killed, etc Other forms of human rights violations can follow. Violence is thus a cause and consequence of HIV/AIDS

BREAKING THE CYCLE OF VIOLENCE TO CONTROL THE HIV/AIDS EPIDEMIC

Recognition of the link between gender-based violence and the HIV&AIDS pandemic has not engendered integrated programming to break the cycle. The solution appears to be the application of a human rights framework that addresses vulnerabilities at the intersection of gender-based violence and HIV (Gruskin, S. et al., 2005).

Legislation at the international level and ratification of international instruments that address violence and the protection of human rights have not been translated into action at the level of the individual woman in Nigeria. Most international agreements are yet to be domesticated in Nigeria and so do not have the force of law. The only human rights instrument that has been directly incorporated into Nigerian domestic law to date is the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, Cap 10, 1990 Laws of the Federation. Other instruments that have been domesticated albeit not so directly is the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), which now forms the substratum of the Child Rights Act of Nigeria (2003) (UNIFEM/UNAIDS, 2004).

The 1999 Federal Constitution of Nigeria and the Criminal Code harbour clauses that discriminate against women. Section 55(1)(d) of the penal code, cap 89, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN), 1963 (applicable in Northern Nigeria) stipulates that wives may be corrected by their husbands provided no grievous harm is inflicted.  Section 29, sub-section 4b of the constitution endorses child marriage by proclaiming that any woman who is married shall be considered an adult.

Legal and constitutional reform is desirable. However, unless there is a complete overhaul of the entire patriarchal structure, it is unlikely that we can expect more than a piecemeal progress in eliminating gender-based violence.  Also, a jurisprudential overhaul appears inevitable.

It is imperative that Nigeria complies with and utilizes international norms and standards to draft/reform laws, policies and programs that address linkages between violence and HIV&AIDS. In addition, there is need for government at all levels to make budgetary allocations to implement programmes that respond to these issues.

Translating laws and policies to action at lower levels is a major challenge and requires capacity building as well as integrated advocacy and programming efforts by civil society.

Gupta, 2000 identifies various mutually reinforcing levels of engagement as we move progressively towards gender equality. At the levels of communities and individuals, it is important to develop gender-sensitive programmes that recognize and respond to the differential needs of and constraints of individuals based on their gender and sexuality. A good example would be to provide women with female-controlled HIV prevention methods in recognition of their powerlessness to negotiate the use of male-condoms (Gupta, 2000).  Gender sensitive programmes respond to needs but often do not transform unequal gender or sexual relations.

Another level of engagement is aimed at engendering transformation of gender and sexual roles through the creation of spaces for men/boys and women/girls to negotiate and rethink gender and sexual roles in order to create more equitable relationships. It is a deliberate attempt to re-socialise boys to appreciate the negative consequences of stereotypes.

The most advanced level according to Gupta, 2000 entails empowerment and a re-orientation that seeks to free men and women from traditional myths and misconceptions. It seeks to empower women by improving access to information, skills, services and technologies but also go further to encourage participation in decision-making and create a group identity, away from traditional family set-ups and influence. Empowering women to make reproductive choices requires an understanding of the web of intra-household relations in which women are caught (Adams and Castle, 1994).

Decision-making is at the center of all forms of marginalisation. It is therefore imperative to empower women to take on leadership roles both in micro and macro spheres. Finally, there is the need to ultimately establish structures and mechanisms within communities to hold governments accountable for respecting, protecting and fulfilling human rights in the context of gender-based violence.

 

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Muntemba, S and Blackden M., 2001, Putting Gender into the MAP Africa Region Gender Team, Office of the PREM Director Poverty Reduction and Economic Management, Africa Region, The World Bank October 2001

 

NACA, 2005, HIV/AIDS National Strategic Framework for Action 2005-2009, ISBN: 978-36061-7-4, pp 6-17

 

NIAID, 2004, HIV Infection in Women, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, US Department of Health and Human Services, www. niaid.nih.gov/factsheets/womenhiv.htm November, 2004

 

 Online Glossary of terms, 2005, http://www.theworldstarts.org/start/glossary.htm, Nov 4th, 2005

 

Otive-Igbuzor, 2003, HIV/AIDS in Nigeria: Rethinking Women’s Vulnerabilities Beyond the Biomedical Paradigm, Nigerian Journal of Health and Biomedical Sciences, vol 2, no 1, Jan-June, 2003, pp 1-6

 

Otive-Igbuzor, 2003, Patriarchy and Poverty: Patriarchy And Poverty:  Rethinking African Women’s Vulnerabilities to HIV/AIDS, Paper presented at the African Women’s Sexual and Reproductive Rights Conference: Prosperity through Empowerment organized by the AMANITARE Project of RAINBO, Queens Studios, 121, Salusbury Road, London NW 6RG WEBSITE: www.rainbo.org, www.amanitare.org held at the Glenburn Lodge, Johannesburg, South Africa from 4th-7th February, 2003. (Published in the AMANITARE Conference Book of Abstracts, An Abridged version has been published in AMANITARE’s International Newsletter in July, 2003)

 

Otive-Igbuzor, 2004,

Otive-Igbuzor, E.J. HIV/AIDS, Human Rights and Women in Nigeria, WERRC Monograph         Series No. 1, Women Empowerment and Reproduction Rights Centre (WERRC), Nigeria, pp 1-22.)

 

Otive-Igbuzor, E.J., Gender & Reproductive Rights in Nigeria , 2002, WERRC-A-HOLIC, WERRC’s Newsletter, pp 1-10

UNAIDS 2001, AIDS Epidemic Update, www.nblca.org/UN_EPIupdate2001.pdf Nov 2005

UNAIDS, 1999, Taking Stock of Research and Programmes on Gender and HIV/AIDS, Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, 20, Avenue Appia, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland, www.unaids.org

UNAIDS, 2003, UNAIDS Progress Report on the Global Response to the HIV/AIDS Epidemic, 2003,

http://www.unaids.org/en/in+focus/hiv_aids_human_rights/ungass_human_rights.asp Nov 3rd, 2005

 

UNAIDS/UNFPA/UNIFEM, 2004, Women and HIV/AIDS: Confronting the    

UNAIDS/UNIFEM, 2004, Human Rights of People Living with HIV/AIDS and   People Affected by HIV/AIDS including Widows, Research Report presented at a dissemination meeting, 2005

 

UNDP 2004, HIV and AIDS: A Challenge Sustainable Human Development, Human Development Report Nigeria, 2004, pp1-5

UNFPA, 2004, State of World Population, The Cairo Consensus at Ten:  Population, Reproductive Health and the Global Effort to End Poverty, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)

 

UNFPA, 2005, Fast Facts on Gender Issues: Gender-Based Violence- www.unfpa.org/gender/resources2.htm, Nov 9th, 2005

UNHCR Newsletter, Separated Children in Europe Programme, June-July 2002, Issue No 11

 

UNIFEM, 2001, Turning the Tide: CEDAW and the Gender Dimensions of the HIV/AIDS Pandemic, United Nations Development Fund for Women, 304, East 45th Street, 15th Floor, NY, 10017

 

UNIFEM, 2005, Guide on HIV/AIDS for Clergy, CIDJAP Press, 1-3, Ikwuato Street, Uwani, Enugu, pp29

WEDO, 2005, Beijing Betrayed, Women Worldwide report that Governments have failed to turn the Platform into Action, Women’s Environment and Development Organisation (WEDO), 355, Lexington Avenue, 3rd Floor, New York, NY10017-6603, USA, p 15

 

WHO 2002, WHO’s Gender Policy: Integrating Gender Perspectives in the Work of WHO, World Health Organisation, Geneva, Switzerland

 

WHO, 2002, http://www.who.int/infectious–disease–report/pages/ch1text.hitml

      Wingood, G and Diclemente, R., 2000, Application of the Theory of Gender and Power to Examine HIV-Related Exposurea, Risk Factors and Effective Interventions for Women, Health Education and Behaviour, 27 (5): 539-565

 

World Bank 2004, Integrating Gender into HIV/AIDS Programs, http://www.worldbank.org/afr/aids/map/Gender_and_HIV-AIDS_Guide_Nov-04.pdf