"The link in Africa between violence to women and HIV must be broken"

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Tears may dry in seconds. Bruises may disappear in days – and scars might eventually fade. But of all the devastating consequences of violence against women and girls, there is one lasting impact that cannot be hidden underneath clothing or concealed behind a forced smile. In sub-Saharan Africa, every minute of every day a woman becomes infected with HIV, adding to the tragic and persistent spread of the HIV/Aids epidemic.

They are someone's mother, wife, daughter or sister – and often they are also someone's battered and abused victim. Rape, child abuse and domestic violence are all driving HIV on the continent. Rapists care little for condoms, which means every victim faces a vastly higher risk of HIV infection. African women abused by their partner are 1.5 times more likely to acquire HIV; women who have been sexually abused in childhood are more prone to the virus; one study revealed that child abuse leads to a 66% higher chance of being infected.

These brutal statistics, coupled with the poverty and disempowerment faced by most African women, might give a clue or explanation as to why there are twice as many young African women living with HIV than young men. There is a direct link between violence and HIV. Women and girls living with HIV are more prone to abuse, due to the stigma of the virus. A gruesome vicious cycle is formed, with violence feeding the epidemic, which in turn feeds the brutality.

Malawi is a case in point. We have both visited this small African country and have witnessed women's extraordinary courage, as well as their darkest despair: 61% of HIV-positive Malawians are women; 41% of Malawian women experience physical or sexual violence. Two-thirds of girls experience child abuse, with three-quarters of these incidents taking place in schools – the very place where they should be safe and protected from the evils of this world. Most pupils suffer in silence, as speaking out is deemed to be unacceptable. Fear, stigma and the threat of retribution keeps everything closeted, while the issue remains unacknowledged.