South Africa faces a globally unprecedented problem of violence against women and girls, as well as men and boys, which is undermining our national development and hindering our achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.  With rates of homicide, rape, and childhood and domestic violence well above those of comparable other countries, the problem of violence is undermining our nation’s health and economic and social development.

South Africa has one of the highest rates of rape reported to the police in the world and the largest number of people living with HIV. The rate of rape perpetration is not known because only a small proportion of rapes are reported to the police. There is considerable concern about the links between these two problems. Obviously HIV can be transmitted in the course of rape and this compounds the human rights violation of the rape.

All available strategies for preventing sexual transmission of HIV involve behaviour change, yet there has been remarkably little research into the effectiveness of individual level approaches, with the lack most notable in settings of high HIV prevalence. Research that has considered whether behaviour change interventions could reduce the number of new infections has not shown clear evidence of effectiveness (Kamali et al 2003; Ross, personal communication).

The killing of women by intimate partners (also known as intimate female homicide or intimate femicide) is the most extreme form and consequence of violence against women. Globally, gender differences are found in homicide patterns. Men are at greater risk of being killed than women and this is mainly done by other men. Women, on the other hand, are primarily killed by the opposite gender (Goetting, 1988). The murder of women by an intimate partner accounts for between 40 – 70% of all female homicides (Dahlberg & Krug, 2002).