Today, over half of all new HIV infections worldwide occur in those under 25 years old. In many countries, girls are becoming infected much earlier than boys. Many of these infections result from violence. In Santiago, Chile, three percent of young women report that rape was their first sexual experience. Even young children may contract HIV from forced sex, often with close acquaintances, such as family members or 'trusted' friends.
Mothers often know that their children are being abused, yet are afraid to speak out.
But I want to stress that the health consequences of abuse are not limited to the obvious risk - getting infected with HIV by the abuser. Later in life this may lead to many kinds of AIDS risk behaviour such as drug use, prostitution and unprotected sex. A recent US survey showed that young women who were sexually abused as children are twice as likely to place themselves at risk through unprotected sex with multiple partners. For boys too, physical abuse as a social norm is carried over from generation to generation. Boys who watch their fathers abuse their mothers are more likely to become abusers themselves, thus perpetuating the cycle.