Joyce Hewitt, coordinator for the Public Education Committee, Woman Inc.:
WITH REGARD to what our organisation does, most people realise that we sponsor the Crisis Centre, which provides counselling for victims of rape, incest and domestic violence. And through our work in the recent years, particularly with the emergence of the pandemic of HIV/AIDS, we have recognised that ... there is a specific link to the violence against women and the spread of HIV/ AIDS.
FORCED UNPROTECTED SEX
Dr. McDonald alluded to it with regard to women who have unprotected sex, not necessarily by choice, but by force, and people need to recognise that. For every case of incest, there is a cause for the spread of HIV/AIDS. For every case of rape, there is a cause for the spread of HIV/AIDS. For many cases that people don't think about in the instance of domestic violence, because we don't even want to think of the fact that perhaps a man can rape his wife but, in fact, it does occur, particularly in the instances of domestic violence.
So we need to recognise it (violence and HIV/AIDS connection). We took it on three years ago to look at some aspects of it where we as a society really need to do more, not just Woman Inc., but the society, and that is in regards to the stigma and discrimination that we ourselves as a society heap upon the victims. We heap it upon the victims of domestic violence. 'She must have done something to make him beat her.' 'She must like it, otherwise why she stay?' And all of those things that we do to blame the victim.
We do the same thing with victims of incest, even young children. We think they must have done something, must be too 'fast', must be too feisty. We look at eight-year-olds and seven-year-olds and decide they must have been too sexy. And then when they are themselves infected with HIV/AIDS, what do we do? We ourselves as a society heap the stigma and the discrimination upon them.
