Abuse Among People Living with HIV/AIDS

Updated:

Updated: July 30, 2024

Basic info

What are HIV and AIDS?

HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is a virus that attacks the body’s immune system and, if left untreated, can lead to AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). People living with HIV may or may not have AIDS, depending on how their health is being affected by the virus. You can read more about this on HIV.gov.¹

Note: For this section, we will use the term “people living with HIV” since it’s inclusive of people living with AIDS as well.

¹HIV.gov, “What Are HIV and AIDS?”

What is HIV criminalization?

HIV criminalization is the process through which people living with HIV are criminalized or face penalties due to their HIV-positive status. An abuser might use these criminal laws as a way to intimidate the victim; for example, threatening to falsely make a police report alleging that the victim violated one of these laws. To determine if laws like this exist within your state, please see The Center for HIV Law & Policy’s website.

HIV and violence in an intimate relationship

What 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

¹Sullivan 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;²and
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.

More information and where to get help

I am living with HIV, and I want to leave an abusive relationship. What can I do?

Being HIV-positive could affect your decision to walk away from an abusive partner for reasons such as:

fear of unwanted disclosure of your diagnosis if you try to leave;
discrimination when you attempt to find help at shelters or other emergency housing options after leaving abuse; or
limited financial resources if you are unable to work; therefore, it may be harder to get the money that is needed to flee or to live separately from the abuser.

If you identify as LGBTQ+, you may face additional obstacles to leaving an abusive relationship because of unfair shaming about your sexual orientation in addition to your HIV status. For more information about abuse in LGBTQ+ relationships, you can go to our LGBTQ+ Victims page.

In any case, it is important to know that there is help. You can call a local domestic violence organization where an advocate can help you figure out what you want to do next and what help is available based on your specific situation. To find an organization near you, go to our Advocates and Shelters page and select your state from the drop-down menu. You can also call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233.

Another option could be to tell your doctor or nurse about the abuse and ask for referrals or support available at your local hospital, medical center, or HIV community-based organization. For example, the HIV clinic where you receive services may have a partnership with the community’s domestic violence agencies and may even have an advocate onsite at the clinic. If you are afraid that the abuser will find out that you went to a domestic violence agency, this may be a better way to seek help. However, this may only be an option if you:

are currently receiving medical care for HIV/AIDS;
trust your doctor/nurse; and
can attend appointments by yourself or meet with your doctor/nurse without the abuser present.

Where can I find additional resources about HIV and intimate partner violence?

If you want to learn more about HIV/AIDS and how intimate partner violence can affect people living with HIV/AIDS, here are some additional websites that can be helpful to read through:

Positively Safe: Addressing the Intersection of Domestic Violence & HIV/AIDS from the National Network to End Domestic Violence, including this brochure in English and Spanish;
The Empowered video series from Greater Than AIDS;
Violence Against Women and HIV (signs and safety planning) from The Well Project; and
Expanding the Continuum podcast from the National Network to End Domestic Violence and Futures Without Violence.

About Abuse