Women's Property Rights, HIV and AIDS & Domestic Violence: Research Findings from Two Districts in South Africa and Uganda

To better understand the role played by tenure security in protecting against, and mitigating the effects of, HIV and violence, the ICRW, HSRC, and AfD conducted research over a two-year period, beginning in 2005, that explored these linkages in Amajuba district, South Africa and Iganga district, Uganda. The current rates of HIV infection among the adult population in South Africa and Uganda are 20 per cent and 6 per cent respectively. Amajuba is more urban (more than 56 per cent), while Iganga is predominantly rural, with only about 5 per cent of its population living in urban settlements. Qualitative research methods were applied across the two site countries to examine women’s experiences with land and property ownership, HIV and AIDS, and domestic violence. In-depth interviews were conducted with 60 women in each site. Overall, this study found that property ownership, while not easily linked to women’s ability to prevent HIV infection, can nonetheless mitigate the impact of AIDS, and can also enhance a woman’s ability to leave a violent situation.

Location: South Africa and Uganda

Author(s): ICRW , HSRC , AfD

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