ABSTRACT
Long the domain of feminist, psychological and criminological research, interest in sexual violence (and more broadly in violence related to gender and sexuality) has widened as a result of the advent of HIV and the subsequent increase in attention to sexuality, gender and human rights. The last decade has seen evidence grow both of the contribution of these kinds of violence to suffering and ill-health worldwide, and their role in influencing sexual (and reproductive) health outcomes, including HIV infection (Maman et al., 2000). Different kinds of violence are interlinked and can be understood from multiple intersecting perspectives, which include individual factors such as psychological history and personal background, socio-cultural norms relating to gender and sexuality, historical processes in particular settings such as conflict and the effects of colonialism, and the workings and exclusions of contemporary local, regional and global political economies.
