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EspañolWhat is the relationship between intimate partner violence and HIV?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an estimated 26% of people living with HIV have been physically hurt by a romantic or sexual partner. Furthermore, 17% of HIV-positive people have been threatened with harm or physically forced to have unwanted sex.1
Intimate partner violence (IPV) can:
- happen as a result of an HIV infection- 24% of women experience abuse by their partners after disclosing their HIV serostatus;
- affect people living with HIV at a larger scale- an estimated 55% of women and 20% of men living with HIV infection are victims of intimate partner violence;
- increase the chance of exposure to HIV; and
- interfere with victims’ willingness and ability to care for themselves medically when living with HIV.2
1 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Behavioral and Clinical Characteristics of Persons with Diagnosed HIV Infection, Revised June 2019
2 Sullivan TP. The Intersection of Intimate Partner Violence and HIV: Detection, Disclosure, Discussion, and Implications for Treatment Adherence (May 2019)
Can intimate partner violence increase the chance of exposure to HIV?
There are documented links between intimate partner violence (IPV) and HIV. For instance, people in relationships where IPV is present are 48% more likely to be infected with HIV than those who are not. If the abuser is living with HIV, s/he can increase the risk to the abused partner by:
- engaging in high-risk behaviors like injection drug use;
- forcing/coercing the victim to engage in high-risk behaviors;
- forcing/coercing the victim into having sex; and
- refusing to use protection.1
1 Sullivan TP. The Intersection of Intimate Partner Violence and HIV: Detection, Disclosure, Discussion, and Implications for Treatment Adherence (May 2019)
I am living with HIV. How could intimate partner violence affect my health or well-being?
Here are some ways intimate partner violence can affect your medical care and overall health:
- Victims are four times more likely to have antiretroviral therapy failure than people who are not being abused. This means that they may face more HIV-related health issues;
- Women who recently experienced IPV are four times more likely to report condomless sex, increasing the possibility of a secondary HIV exposure as well as to other sexually transmitted infections;1
- An abuser may prevent the victim from accessing routine and emergency medical care as part of the pattern of abuse;
- The abuse can increase the effect of other underlying conditions, including hypertension and heart disease;
- A victim’s immune system may be compromised by stress, depression, trauma, or PTSD from the abuse;2 and
- Victims may fear that partner notification laws will result in a current or former abuser being notified about their status. Therefore, a victim may go without medical treatment in case partner notification laws require the doctor or other medical professional to tell the victim’s current or former partners that s/he has HIV. Note: Not all states require this type of notification. For information about partner notification laws in your state, please see The Center for HIV Law & Policy.
1 NYC.gov, The Link Between Exposure to Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Among Women in the United States
2 Domestic Violence and People Living with HIV. University of Florida, Center for HIV/AIDS (2021)
I am living with HIV. In what ways could someone use my HIV status to abuse me?
Abusers may use the unfair stigma around HIV to isolate and control you. This HIV Power & Control Wheel, shown below and available as a PDF, includes ways in which you may face abuse from your partner.
