The Office on Women’s Health (OWH) seeks to fund projects to serve women at increased risk of HIV infection and intimate partner violence (IPV) through expanded primary prevention, screening, and response activities from September 2019 to 2021.
To meet this criteria, the Center for Women and Families (CWF), a sexual and domestic violence support and advocacy center in Louisville, Kentucky (KY), will
- enhance and expand HIV testing and referrals as well as improve access to HIV prevention and treatment services for women who experience IPV,
- integrate IPV screening protocols for women seeking HIV testing and referral services, and
- reduce stigma among providers about IPV and co-occurring HIV and substance use disorder (SUD) risks.
Joined in this effort are Volunteers of America (VOA), a human service organization that provides HIV testing, and addiction recovery services; the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE); consultant Dr. Olivia Ashley, a nationally recognized expert in IPV and sexual violence (SV) prevention; and consultant Dr. Jelani Kerr, an expert in PrEP uptake and adherence among high-risk populations in Louisville. Together we offer an approach that is informed by a community advisory board (CAB) that addresses harms associated with IPV by adapting evidence-based curricula and interventions to the needs of women in Jefferson County, KY, a community with escalating opioid and HIV infection rates and high rates of sexual violence.
The project was completed in December 2021, reaching over 450 women at risk for HIV and IPV. As a part of the project, PIRE developed a community report sharing how the team worked together to accomplish our goals. We also created 2 training manuals. One manual covers training HIV testing and outreach staff to screen for IPV and the other is a training for IPV service providers to discuss HIV risks. Both are freely available at the links below.
