Intimate Partner Violence and HIV Infection in sub-Saharan Africa

We investigate the relationship between intimate partner violence (IPV) and HIV among married and cohabiting women in sub-Saharan Africa. We find a strong association, and that it is primarily due to higher HIV risk among violent men; neither women's decreased ability to protect themselves from HIV within marriage, nor their risky sexual behavior, explains the link. Thus, it is not violence per se that spreads HIV, but that violent men are more likely to become HIV positive and then infect their wives. Programs that aim at reducing HIV by eliminating IPV should therefore also focus on men's risky sexual behavior.