Gender, HIV and AIDS

In acknowledging that poverty and gender inequalities are driving factors in the spread and impact of HIV/AIDS, the Commonwealth Plan of Action for Gender Equality 2005-2015 (PoA) emphasises the need for bringing together gender analysis, mainstreaming methods and a multi-sectoral approach in HIV/AIDS interventions.

The Commonwealth Secretariat’s work on HIV/AIDS, carried out from the late 1990s and through to 2004, focused primarily on gender-based analysis of HIV/AIDS, gender sensitive training approaches in HIV/AIDS, and conceptualization and implementation of gender mainstreaming training in East and Southern Africa. During this period, training manuals, reports and resource material on addressing the gender and policy dimensions of HIV were also produced. Between June 2004 and December 2006, work was carried out in Southern Africa, Caribbean and Asia.

Work in Southern Africa was informed by the concept of implementing the ‘International Institute on Gender and HIV/AIDS’ which was seen as a ‘virtual institute’ i.e., a borderless institute which moved between locations to undertake capacity building initiatives on gender mainstreaming in HIV interventions.

The International Institute on Gender and HIV/AIDS for Southern Africa was held in Johannesburg in June 2004. 88 participants including senior policy makers, researchers, activists and advocates from Botswana, Lesotho, South Africa and Swaziland participated; participants finalized national plans for action in their respective countries.

Activities to consolidate efforts made in the Southern African Institute have included a Roundtable at the AIDS Impact Conference in Cape Town, April 2005, and the convening of gender mainstreaming activities at the pan-African Conference on Gender and HIV/AIDS in Dakar, October 2005. Lessons from the Southern African experience were discussed at a panel at the 2006 World AIDS Conference in Toronto and will also culminate at a side event in Kenya during the 4th African Conference on Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS Research in April 2007.

In the Caribbean, support has been extended to the multi-agency initiative for gender mainstreaming in HIV interventions which began in 2005. This initiative has focused on:

a) assessment of interventions in the region;

b) compilation of a training manual and resource kit;

c) ongoing rolling out of training for government and civil society organisations on gender mainstreaming at regional, sub-regional and national levels.

The Secretariat was on the advisory group and resource panel for the compilation of the training manual and on the master training team for the inaugural Training of Trainers Workshop in January 2006. In order to link the various Commonwealth interventions, the report and draft curriculum from the inaugural Institute in Southern Africa have informed the Caribbean initiative; Caribbean partners have also been involved in the Southern African follow-up activities. The Caribbean intervention has now entered the second phase with a focus on human rights’ violations and violence against women and the links to HIV.

Work on the Asia initiative began in January 2006; six policy reviews and assessment of initiatives have been commissioned and will be finalised for publication. The reviews will be presented at policy dialogues with partners and researchers in 2007.

Focus in the future will be on the gender and policy dimensions of HIV/AIDS and address:

1) gender mainstreaming in various sectors;

2) intergenerational knowledge transfer on culture, HIV/AIDS and sexuality;

3) links between violence against women and marginalised groups and HIV/AIDS and social stigma.