Rights abuses fuel female HIV infection

KENYA: Rights abuses fuel female HIV infection

JOHANNESBURG, 5 Mar 2003 (PLUSNEWS) - Women throughout Kenya lose their homes, land, and other property due to discriminatory laws and customs, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a new report released on Tuesday.

The rights group says widows are forced to engage in risky sexual practices like "wife inheritance" in order to keep their property.

"Women€™s property rights violations are not only discriminatory, they may also prove deadly," executive director of the HRW Women€™s Rights Division, LaShawn Jefferson, said in a statement.

HRW said the violations and their impact are magnified by Kenya's high HIV/AIDS prevalence.

UNAIDS estimates that 15 percent of the country's adults are infected with HIV/AIDS.

To access the full report:
http://hrw.org/reports/2003/kenya0303/

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