For ;National Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October, Tonya Lewis Lee — lawyer, activist and ;Spike Lee’s wife — led a powerful conversation about dealing with HIV and domestic violence. ;The conversation marked the launch of “Empowered: Women, HIV and Intimate Partner Violence,” a 20-minute video that features ;five women living with HIV who have escaped abusive relationships. Greater Than AIDS, an organization that raises awareness about the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the U.S., premiered the video on its ;website on Tuesday. ; “Many times he used HIV against me,” said ;Maria, who was diagnosed as a teenager. “‘You should …
For ;National Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October, Tonya Lewis Lee — lawyer, activist and ;Spike Lee’s wife — led a powerful conversation about dealing with HIV and domestic violence. ;The conversation marked the launch of “Empowered: Women, HIV and Intimate Partner Violence,” a 20-minute video that features ;five women living with HIV who have escaped abusive relationships. Greater Than AIDS, an organization that raises awareness about the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the U.S., premiered the video on its ;website on Tuesday. ;
“Many times he used HIV against me,” said ;Maria, who was diagnosed as a teenager. “‘You should be glad you have someone to love you because who’s gonna want you with HIV?'” She said she had ;a low T cell count because of the stress and depression from her relationship.
More than one-third of all women ;and ;44 percent of black women ;in the U.S. experience intimate partner violence, according to Greater Than AIDS. Even more shocking is that ;50 percent ;of women with HIV are abused by their partner, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Women of color account for two-thirds of new HIV cases ;in the country, and ;it is estimated that one in 32 black women will get the disease in her lifetime. ;
“We’re with these men who are abusive who don’t want to use condoms or they don’t want us to go to the doctor,” Gina, who has lived with the disease for more than 20 years, said. For many years after her diagnosis, she said, she ;endured physical and mental abuse from her partner.
Women with HIV are over three times more likely ;to face abuse, ;ranging from ;physical violence, emotional abuse or controlling behavior. Domestic abuse affects the HIV status of women without the disease, as well. HIV-negative ;women ;in abusive relationships have a greater risk of contracting HIV.
;”It’s about me being healthy, it’s about me being well and me getting what I need out of all of this,” Gina said.
Watch the full discussion on ;HIV and intimate partner violence ;here ;and check out the clip above.
Also on HuffPost:
— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
Visit site –
Courageous Women Open Up About Life With HIV And Toxic Relationships
