SEXUAL COERCION, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, AND NEGOTIATING CONDOM USE AMONG LOW-INCOME AFRICAN-AMERICAN WOMEN

Coercion to engage in unwanted sex places women at risk for human immu nodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. A survey of 125 women living in lo w-income housing developments in Fulton County, Georgia, showed that 5 3 (42%) women had engaged in unwanted sex because a male partner threa tened to use force or used force to obtain sexual access. Women who ha d been sexually coerced were more likely to have used marijuana and cr ack cocaine and to have abused alcohol. Coerced women were more likely to have been physically abused by a domestic partner. These women wer e also more likely to perceive that requesting male partners to use co ndoms would create a potentially violent situation. These results sugg est that women experience an interactive constellation of social probl ems that create risks for HIV infection and, therefore, that efforts t o prevent HIV infection among women will require multifaceted interven tion strategies to reach both men and women at risk.