Intimate Partner Violence and Women's HIV Risk: A Scoping Review of Pathways Across the HIV Care Continuum

Abstract

Background: Women are among the most vulnerable populations affected by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus. A Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS report revealed that women accounted for 53% of all people living with HIV globally as of 2024. And one of the structural factors identified to predispose women to HIV risk is intimate partner violence. This scoping review aimed to synthesize evidence on the mechanistic pathways linking intimate partner violence to HIV infection, treatment engagement, and clinical outcomes among women globally. Method: This scoping review followed the PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) and was guided by the Arksey and O’Malley framework. The Population, Concept, and Context framework was used to define eligibility. A thorough search in PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar identified articles that were published between January 2015 and March 2026. Studies that examined intimate partner violence and HIV outcomes among women were eligible. Result: There were 1,847 studies that were obtained in the database search. Following the selection process, 29 studies were found eligible and included in the final synthesis. The most assessed forms of intimate partner violence were physical and sexual. Across studies, intimate partner violence was associated with decreased condom negotiation, less autonomy, as well as poor treatment outcomes, including antiretroviral therapy adherence, interruption in treatment, reduced viral suppression, and poor mental health outcomes. Conclusion: Intimate partner violence operates through mechanistic pathways to influence HIV outcomes among women globally. The findings underscore the urgent need for integrated, trauma-informed, and gender-responsive approaches to HIV prevention and treatment. Addressing intimate partner violence is not peripheral to HIV programming, it is key to achieving equitable outcomes for women globally.