'Violence and property-grabbing' obstruct HIV treatment for Zambian women

Zambian women are being prevented from accessing anti-HIV/AIDS treatment by a combination of violence and insecure property rights, according to a new report.

The research, published by the charity Human Rights Watch, accuses the government of the African country of failing to fulfil its international legal obligations to prevent violence and discrimination against women.

A combination of domestic violence and the threat of violence helped thwart women's attempts to access HIV/AIDS testing and treatment, while their inferior property rights also contributed to their inability to use treatment.

Nada Ali, the report's author, said: "Addressing domestic violence, property grabbing, and unequal distribution of property upon divorce is critical to ensuring that women in Zambia have equal access to antiretroviral medicine."

"Unless the Zambian government introduces legal and health system reform and removes the barriers to HIV treatment that women face, gender-based abuses will continue to shatter the lives of countless Zambian women in acute need of antiretroviral treatments and contribute to avoidable losses of health and lives," she added.

According to figures provided by Human Rights Watch, 17 per cent of the Zambian adult population is living with HIV/AIDS, of whom 57 per cent are women.

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