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Results:

One third (37.4%) of wives experienced IPV; 0.4% of husbands and 0.2% of wives were HIV infected. Compared with nonabusive husbands, abusive husbands demonstrated increased odds of HIV acquisition outside the marital relationship in adjusted models (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]= 1.91; 95% CI 1.11 to 3.27). Husbands' HIV infection was associated with increased HIV risk among wives; this risk was elevated 7-fold in abusive relationships in adjusted models (AOR= 7.22; 95% CI 1.05 to 49.88).

Conclusions:

Findings provide the first empirical evidence that abused wives face increased HIV risk based both on the greater likelihood of HIV infection among abusive husbands and elevated HIV transmission within abusive relationships. Thus, IPV seems to function both as a risk marker and as a risk factor for HIV among women, indicating the need for interwoven efforts to prevent both men's sexual risk and …