Responding to violence among young women living with HIV: co-developing the Screen & Support package through clinic-community stakeholder engagement in Zambia
Young women ages 15-24 in sub-Saharan Africa face intersecting risks of early motherhood, HIV infection, and gender-based violence (GBV) from both intimate partners and family members.
Emerging evidence shows high levels of stigma, isolation, and disengagement from care among young women living with HIV (YWHIV)—occurring at a pivotal time for their life trajectories.
Approaches to support YWHIV need to better reflect the social and structural drivers that underpin new infections and may exacerbate their experiences; these include experiences of violence and unmet psychosocial needs.
Leveraging trained peers is a promising solution.
Peer counsellors, embedded in clinical spaces, are one promising approach to enhance quality interactions and deliver non-judgmental, tailored care to YWHIV.
However, we have limited evidence on how they might contribute to assessing if YWHIV are experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, GBV.
At the health facility level, there is a clear need for better structures to facilitate training, screening, and referrals for peer counsellors, in a way that acknowledges the systems that currently support GBV care for young women.
