The Silent Partner - HIV in marriage (film)

In 2004, one third of all new HIV cases in Uganda occurred in married couples. In Zambia and Rwanda, half of all new cases were diagnosed in married or co-habiting couples. In Sub-Sahara Africa, 22 million people are living with HIV/AIDS - 5% of the total population. In some countries, the rate is 1-2% but in others, such as Swaziland and Botswana, the rate is over 20% (AVERT). Most of these Sub-Sahara African societies are patriarchal - women spend their lives being owned, first by their fathers and then by their husbands. In order to prove their strength and manhood, men have multiple sex partners outside marriage and married women are powerless to practice abstinence or demand condom use. Women's health, and even survival, depend on the sexual behavior of men and for the most part, their behavior is reckless and without regard for their own health or the health of their wives and children. For married women, there are no alternatives - they are taught to ask no questions and make no demands for the sake of their children because husbands are the providers. They are taught to always say yes to their husband's demands - if they don't, they can be physically chastised. Cultural attitudes foster acceptance of marital violence - in Kenya, 43% of women report being the victim of sexual violence from their husbands. A recent law against sexual violence in Kenya excludes marital rape as a crime. One problem is that leaders who recognize the urgency of stopping this life-threatening behavior have not identified ways to reach out to the men in these cultures. Millions of dollars in international aid have been thrown at the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa but until Africans themselves take ownership of the problem and begin to address the cause of the continuing epidemic it will continue. Women cannot be empowered to take control of their health until men are educated about the extreme risks posed by their behavior and until they are taught to value women. REFERENCES: AVERT, 2009. Averting HIV and AIDS. Statistics. Retrieved from http://www.avert.org/africa-hiv-aids-statistics.htm___ Population Action International, n.d. Silent Partner-HIV in Marriage. Video retrieved from http://www.populationaction.org/silentpartner/about.html#film