Abstract:
BACKGROUND : Gender-based violence (GBV) has been shown to have significant and longlasting
impacts on women’s physical and mental health. It is, therefore, important to study its
occurrence in a population and its intersect with infectious diseases such as HIV to inform the
wider health promotion agenda. This study aimed to determine the association between GBV
and HIV status in women and adolescent girls in Zimbabwe.
METHODS : A secondary data analysis of data from a cross-sectional Zimbabwe Demographic
and Health Survey (ZDHS) was conducted. Statistical analysis was employed to establish the
association between GBV and HIV status. Geospatial mapping was conducted using a kernel
smoothing method was employed to generate a continuous kernel density surface to illustrate
the local spatial variations of female HIV and GBV prevalence.
RESULTS : Women and adolescent girls suffering emotional GBV, such as those subjected to
humiliation by their husbands or partners, were 1.45 (1.14-1.84) [OR (95% CIs)] times more
likely to be HIV positive than those who were never humiliated. The same was true for women
and adolescent girls whose husbands or partners threatened to harm them or someone they
love, 1.33 (1.04-1.68). There is a relationship between women’s HIV status and intimate
partner aggression, such as when their partners pushed, shook, or threw something at them or
physically abused them. This was also the case for those who reported that partners kicked,
dragged, or beat them, tried to choke or burn them on purpose, or threatened or attacked them
with a knife, gun, or other weapons. Women who experienced forced sexual violence with
threats were more likely 1.61 (1.08-2.41), to be HIV positive than those women who did not
experience the same.
CONCLUSION : GBV is widely spread in Zimbabwe. There is a need for the government to
implement creative strategies to reach out to survivors, especially those that are forced to have
unprotected sex and are at increased risk of HIV acquisition. This manuscript raises issues that
can be addressed by robust health promotion strategies to reduce the impact of the syndemic
of GBV and HIV acquisition in Zimbabwe.
