Women with male partners who are physically violent and controlling have a substantially increased risk of becoming infected with HIV, according to a new study by researchers from South Africa (Lancet. 2004;363:1415-1421).
Researchers from the Medical Research Council in Pretoria, South Africa, interviewed 1366 women at four antenatal clinics about their sexual behavior (including risk behaviors such as multiple partners and transactional sex), experience of violence, and gender equality in their intimate relationships. The women also underwent routine testing for HIV.
After adjusting for age, current relationship status, and risk behavior, the researchers found that being the target of violence from a male partner and having a current male partner who was highly controlling were associated with a 50% higher likelihood of being infected with HIV.
"We postulate that abusive men are more likely to have HIV and impose risky sexual practices on partners," the researchers wrote. Research on links between societal views of masculinity, male violence and dominance in relationships, and HIV risk behaviors in men is urgently needed, as are effective interventions, they concluded.
