Correlates of Safety Strategy Use Among South African Women Living With HIV and at Risk of Intimate Partner Violence

Abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV) and HIV are correlated and endemic in South Africa. However, safety strategy use to prevent IPV among HIV-positive women is understudied. This study assesses correlates of specific safety strategy use among 166 Black South African women recently experiencing IPV and testing positive for HIV. Associations were observed between consultation with formal (i.e., counselors, clergy, IPV specialists) and informal networks (i.e., friends/family) and participant language (isiZulu, isiXhosa, Sesotho, and English), past year IPV, and engaging in HIV care. Future HIV-IPV programs should consider how characteristics of different IPV safety strategies may influence strategy uptake and ultimately HIV care.

Keywords

HIV counseling and testing intimate partner violence safety strategies South Africa

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Abdool Karim

Meyer-Weitz

Mboyi

Carrara

Mahlase

Frohlich

J. A.

Abdool Karim

S. S.

(2008). The influence of AIDS stigma and discrimination and social cohesion on HIV testing and willingness to disclose HIV in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Global Public Health, 3(4), 351–365. https://doi.org/10.1080/17441690802076496

Abrahams

Jewkes

Martin

L. J.

Mathews

Vetten

Lombard

(2009). Mortality of women from intimate partner violence in South Africa: A national epidemiological study. Violence and Victims, 24(4), 546–556. https://doi.org/10.1891/0886-6708.24.4.546

Abramsky

Devries

Kiss

Francisco

Nakuti

Musuya

, et al. (2012). A community mobilisation intervention to prevent violence against women and reduce HIV/AIDS risk in Kampala, Uganda (the SASA! Study): Study protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial. Trials, 13, Article 96. https://doi.org/10.1186/1745-6215-13-96

Abramsky

Devries

Kiss

Nakuti

Kyegombe

Starmann

, et al. (2014). Findings from the SASA! Study: A cluster randomized controlled trial to assess the impact of a community mobilization intervention to prevent violence against women and reduce HIV risk in Kampala, Uganda. BMC Medicine, 12(1), Article 122. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-014-0122-5

AMFAR. (2020). Statistics: Women and HIV/AIDS. https://www.amfar.org/about-hiv-and-aids/facts-and-stats/statistics–women-and-hiv-aids/

Ansara

D. L.

Hindin

M. J.

(2010). Formal and informal help-seeking associated with women’s and men’s experiences of intimate partner violence in Canada. Social Science and Medicine, 70(7), 1011–1018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2009.12.009

Bloom

T. L.

Glass

N. E.

Case

Wright

Nolte

Parsons

(2014). Feasibility of an online safety planning intervention for rural and urban pregnant abused women. Nursing Research, 63(4), 243–251. https://doi.org/10.1097/NNR.0000000000000036

Bogart

L. M.

Collins

R. L.

Cunningham

Beckman

Golinelli

Eisenman

Bird

C. E.

(2005). The association of partner abuse with risky sexual behaviors among women and men with HIV/AIDS. AIDS and Behavior, 9(3), 325–333. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-005-9006-1

Brown

L. L.

van Zyl

M. A.

(2018). Mitigating intimate partner violence among South African women testing HIV positive during mobile counseling and testing. AIDS Care, 30(1), 65–71. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540121.2017.1366414

10.

Campbell

J. C.

Webster

D. W.

Glass

(2009). The danger assessment: Validation of a lethality risk assessment instrument for intimate partner femicide. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 24(4), 653–674. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260508317180

11.

CARE. (2020). More than 50 women stand #TogetherForHer with the Charlize Theron Africa outreach project, CARE, and entertainment industry foundation to address gender-based violence during COVID-19. PR Newsire. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/more-than-50-women-stand-togetherforher-with-the-charlize-theron-africa-outreach-project-care-and-entertainment-industry-foundation-to-address-gender-based-violence-during-covid-19-301055986.html

12.

Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. (2014). Intersection of intimate partner violence and HIV in women—February. http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/ipv/13_243567_green_aag-a.pdf

13.

Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. (2019). Intimate partner violence. http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/intimatepartnerviolence/

14.

Chibber

K. S.

Krishnan

(2011). Confronting intimate partner violence: A global health priority. Mount Sinai Journal of Medicine, 78, 449–457. https://doi.org/10.1002/msj.20259

15.

Christofides

Jewkes

(2010). Acceptability of universal screening for intimate partner violence in voluntary HIV testing and counseling services in South Africa and service implications. AIDS Care—Psychological and Socio-Medical Aspects of AIDS/HIV, 22(3), 279–285. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540120903193617

16.

Chuku

Mukasa

Yenice

(2020). Putting women and girls’ safety first in Africa’s response to COVID-19. The Brookings Institute.

17.

Deuba

Mainali

Alvesson

H. M.

Karki

D. K.

(2016). Experience of intimate partner violence among young pregnant women in urban slums of Kathmandu Valley, Nepal: A qualitative study. BMC Women’s Health, 16(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-016-0293-7

18.

Dienemann

Campbell

Landenburger

Curry

M. A.

(2002). The domestic violence survivor assessment: A tool for counseling women in intimate partner violence relationships. Patient Education and Counseling, 46(3), 221–228. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0738-3991(01)00216-6

19.

Durevall

Lindskog

(2015). Intimate partner violence and HIV infection in sub-Saharan Africa. World Development, 72, 27–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2015.02.012

20.

Fox

A. M.

Jackson

S. S.

Hansen

N. B.

Gasa

Crewe

Sikkema

K. J.

(2007). In their own voices: A qualitative study of women’s risk for intimate partner violence and HIV in South Africa. Violence Against Women, 13(6), 583–602. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801207299209

21.

Gielen

A. C.

McDonnell

K. A.

Burke

J. G.

O’Campo

(2000). Women’s lives after an HIV-positive diagnosis: Disclosure and violence. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 4(2), 111–120. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009522321240

22.

Gillum

T. L.

Doucette

Mwanza

Munala

(2018). Exploring Kenyan women’s perceptions of intimate partner violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 33(13), 2130–2154. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260515622842

23.

Glass

Eden

K. B.

Bloom

Perrin

(2010). Computerized aid improves safety decision process for survivors of intimate partner violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 25(11), 1947–1964. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260509354508

24.

Goodkind

J. R.

Sullivan

C. M.

Bybee

D. I.

(2004). A contextual analysis of battered women’s safety planning. Violence Against Women, 10(5), 514–533. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801204264368

25.

Goudge

Ngoma

(2011). Exploring antiretroviral treatment adherence in an urban setting in South Africa. Journal of Public Health Policy, 32(S1), S52–S64. https://doi.org/10.1057/jphp.2011.22

26.

Government of South Africa. (2019). President Cyril Ramaphosa: Joint sitting of parliament on gender-based violence. https://www.gov.za/speeches/address-president-cyril-ramaphosa-joint-sitting-parliament-crisis-violence-south-africa

27.

Hatcher

A. M.

Smout

E. M.

Turan

J. M.

Christofides

Stöckl

(2015). Intimate partner violence and engagement in HIV care and treatment among women: A systematic review and meta-analysis. AIDS, 29(16), 2183–2194. https://doi.org/10.1097/QAD.0000000000000842

28.

Horn

Puffer

E. S.

Roesch

Lehmann

(2016). “I don’t need an eye for an eye”: Women’s responses to intimate partner violence in Sierra Leone and Liberia. Global Public Health, 11(1–2), 108–121. https://doi.org/10.1080/17441692.2015.1032320

29.

King

E. J.

Maman

Namatovu

Kiwanuka

Kairania

Ssemanda

J. B.

, et al. (2016). Addressing intimate partner violence among female clients accessing HIV testing and counseling services: Pilot testing tools in Rakai, Uganda. Violence Against Women, 23(13), 1656–1668. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801216663657

30.

Krauss

R. M.

Chiu

C.-Y.

(1998). Language and social behaviour. In Gilbert

Fiske

Lindsey

(Eds.), Handbook of social psychology (4th ed., Vol. 2, pp. 41–88). McGraw-Hill. https://doi.org/10.1177/003803857300700340

31.

Mannell

Jackson

Umutoni

(2016). Women’s responses to intimate partner violence in Rwanda: Rethinking agency in constrained social context. Global Public Health, 11(1–2), 65–81. https://doi.org/10.1080/17441692.2015.1013050

32.

Marshall

K. J.

Fowler

D. N.

Walters

M. L.

Doreson

A. B.

(2018). Interventions that address intimate partner violence and HIV among women: A systematic review. AIDS and Behavior, 22(10), 3244–3263. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-017-2020-2

33.

Mitchell

Wight

Van Heerden

Rochat

T. J.

(2016). Intimate partner violence, HIV, and mental health: A triple epidemic of global proportions. International Review of Psychiatry, 28(5), 452–463. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540261.2016.1217829

34.

Mkandawire-Valhmu

Stevens

P. E.

Kako

P. M.

Dressel

(2013). Safety planning in focus groups of Malawian women living with HIV: Helping each other deal with violence and abuse. Violence Against Women, 19(11), 1331–1349. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801213514859

35.

Nachega

J. B.

Knowlton

A. R.

Deluca

Schoeman

J. H.

Watkinson

Efron

, et al. (2006). Treatment supporter to improve adherence to antiretroviral therapy in HIV-infected South African adults: A qualitative study. Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, 43(SUPPL. 1), 127–133. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.qai.0000248349.25630.3d

36.

Ntseku

(2020). Shelters taking strain as domestic violence rises during Covid-19 lockdown. Independent Online. https://www.msn.com/en-za/news/crime/shelters-taking-strain-as-domestic-violence-rises-during-covid-19-lockdown/ar-BB12BYur

37.

O’Campo

McDonnell

Gielen

Burke

Chen

Y. H.

(2002). Surviving physical and sexual abuse: What helps low-income women? Patient Education and Counseling, 46(3), 205–212. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0738-3991(01)00214-2

38.

Olowookere

S. A.

Fawole

O. I.

Adekanle

D. A.

Adeleke

N. A.

Abioye-Kuteyi

E. A.

(2015). Patterns and correlates of intimate partner violence to women living with HIV/AIDS in Osogbo, southwest Nigeria. Violence Against Women, 21(11), 1330–1340. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801215594889

39.

Parker

E. M.

Gielen

A. C.

(2014). Intimate partner violence and safety strategy use: Frequency of use and perceived effectiveness. Women’s Health Issues, 24(6), 584–593. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.whi.2014.08.001

40.

Parker

E. M.

Gielen

A. C.

Castillo

Webster

D. W.

Glass

(2016). Intimate partner violence and patterns of safety strategy use among women seeking temporary protective orders: A latent class analysis. Violence Against Women, 22(14), 1663–1681. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801216631436

41.

Peltzer

(2013). Intimate partner violence among new HIV positive mothers in South Africa. Gender and Behaviour, 11(1), 5056–5063.

42.

Peltzer

Mashego

T. A.

Mabeba

(2003). Attitudes and practices of doctors toward domestic violence victims in South Africa. Health Care for Women International, 24(2), 149–157. https://doi.org/10.1080/07399330390178431

43.

Pronyk

P. M.

Hargreaves

J. R.

Kim

J. C.

Morison

L. A.

Phetla

Watts

, et al. (2006). Effect of a structural intervention for the prevention of intimate-partner violence and HIV in rural South Africa: A cluster randomised trial. Lancet, 368(9551), 1973–1983. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(06)69744-4

44.

Rigby

(2020). Three-quarters of refugee women in Africa report rise in domestic violence during Covid-19; “Reducing exposure to the virus increased exposure to violence for women and girls.” The Sunday Telegraph: Web Edition. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/women-and-girls/three-quarters-refugee-women-africa-report-rise-domestic-violence/

45.

Rigby

S. W.

Johnson

L. F.

(2017). The relationship between intimate partner violence and HIV: A model-based evaluation. Infectious Disease Modelling, 2(1), 71–89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.idm.2017.02.002

46.

Thackeray

Stelzner

Downs

S. M.

Miller

(2007). Screening for intimate partner violence: The impact of screener and screening environment on victim comfort. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 22(6), 659–670. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260507300206

47.

UNAIDS. (2018). Miles to go: Closing gaps, breaking barriers, righting injustices. https://www.unaids.org/en/20180718_GR2018

48.

van Schalkwyk

Boonzaier

Gobodo-Madikizela

(2014). “Selves” in contradiction: Power and powerlessness in South African shelter residents’ narratives of leaving abusive heterosexual relationships. Feminism & Psychology, 24(3), 314–331. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959353513514245

49.

Wechsberg

W. M.

Jewkes

Novak

S. P.

Kline

Myers

Browne

F. A.

, et al. (2013). A brief intervention for drug use, sexual risk behaviours and violence prevention with vulnerable women in South Africa: A randomised trial of the Women’s Health CoOp. BMJ Open, 3(5), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2013-002622

50.

Wood

S. N.

Glass

Decker

M. R.

(2019). An integrative review of safety strategies for women experiencing intimate partner violence in low-and middle-income countries. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 22, 68–82. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838018823270

51.

World Health Organization. (2013). Responding to intimate partner violence and sexual violence against women: WHO clinical and policy and guidelines. http://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/publications/violence/9789241548595/en/

52.

Wright

Kiguwa

Potter

(2007). The significance of sheltering in the lives of four women affected by abusive relationships. South African Journal of Psychology, 37(3), 616–637. https://doi.org/10.1177/008124630703700314

Supplementary Material

Please find the following supplemental material available below.

For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.

For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.

0.00 MB

0.05 MB

0.14 MB