Walking the Talk - VSO

up international law, a rights-based approach placespeople squarely at the centre of the agenda. Itempowers women and girls to claim their rights, andtake control of their bodies and lives. It puts women andgirls at the heart of policies and programmes, ensuringtheir meaningful participation by making governmentsand institutions accountable to them. It also placesresponsibilities on men and boys for respecting andpromoting women’s rights. It is our hope that this reportwill contribute to international advocacy efforts that gobeyond mere rhetoric and make a tangible difference inthe lives of the people we serve.1.1. Structure of the report“We will not be able to stop this epidemicif we don’t address its drivers in the firstplace – gender inequality and itsconsequences for women. This willrequire that we go well beyond thegender rhetoric and be more operationalin what we promote.” 3Dr Peter PiotUNAIDS Executive DirectorThis report explores obstacles to universal access toprevention, treatment, care and support for all womenand girls. It illustrates the ongoing violations of women’srights by the actions and inactions of those settingpolicies, providing funding, offering services andimplementing programmes. It further provides workingsolutions and best practices for overcoming thoseobstacles. Such strategies were gathered throughresearch studies conducted in 13 countries in whichActionAid and VSO work. While not an exhaustive reviewof women’s rights, it incorporates the voices of ourconstituents to bring to life the particular challenges forwomen living in the era of HIV and AIDS. By weavingsuch everyday stories throughout the text, we hope toillustrate that rights are not just abstract principles, butrather tangible tools that fundamentally affect thewellbeing of women and girls around the world.The report presents an overview of the ways in whichwomen’s rights affect every aspect of HIV and AIDSprevention, treatment, care and support. We begin inChapter 2 with an overview of cross-cutting women’srights issues relevant to HIV and AIDS. Chapters 3 to 5then examine the many barriers women face in accessingHIV and AIDS prevention (Chapter 3), treatment (Chapter4), care and support, as well as the challenges faced bywomen care providers (Chapter 5). Finally, the reportconcludes by calling upon governments in rich and poorcountries, as well as donors, multilateral organisations andcivil society, to take specific steps to place women’s rightsat the heart of their response to HIV and AIDS.Throughout the report we have includedrecommendations for incorporating the rights of womenand girls in the scale up to universal access.Lastly, we use the term ’women and girls’ throughoutthe report, while acknowledging that this does notrepresent a homogeneous category. However, werecognise that some women and girls are particularlyvulnerable or marginalised, whether as a result ofincome, ethnicity, class, caste, religion, sexualorientation, age, disability, profession or other factors.There are specific challenges to realising the rights ofeach of these groups, made more complex andpressing by the many ways in which they aremarginalised. While this report does not cover everykind of marginalisation, stories integrated into the reporthighlight some of the challenges faced by specificgroups in the developing world, where ActionAid andVSO’s work is focused.1.2. MethodologyThis report is a joint project between ActionAid andVSO, conducted between May and November 2007. Itdraws together desk-based research at internationallevel and short participatory research projectscommissioned from Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Guatemala,India, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan,Rwanda, South Africa, Vanuatu and Zimbabwe.ActionAid and VSO programme staff and nationalpartner organisations conducted the country levelparticipatory research over a two-month period. Theyused a range of research methods including: focusgroups of women living with HIV and AIDS, as well asspecific vulnerable groups such as sex workers, inaddition to focus groups of community care providers inboth urban and rural settings; semi-structured andin-depth interviews with key policy makers ingovernment, international non-governmentalorganisations (INGOs) and national coordinatinginstitutions; and desk-based surveys of nationalresearch and policy to assess the legal and socialcontext affecting women in those countries. Quantitativedata was gathered through desk-based research. Theinformation and stories gathered from focus groupparticipants have both guided the content of the reportas well as provided its most personal testimony.10 Walking the talk putting women's rights at the heart of the HIV and AIDS response