Despite the increased risk of domestic violence among women living with HIV/AIDS, its burden has not been
adequately explored in many developing countries including Nigeria. Using interviewer administered questionnaires
we assessed the prevalence and risk factors for domestic violence among 300 HIV seropositive women attending a
teaching hospital in northern Nigeria. Participants have been diagnosed HIV positive for an average of 6.7 years;
66.3% were seroconcordant with their intimate partners while 16.3% were serodiscordant, the rest 17.4% did not
know the partner’s status; 67.1% had disclosed their status to their partners; and 64(22.1%) [95%CI (17.5% to
27.4%)] had experienced domestic violence following HIV diagnosis. Specifically, 30.0% (n=19) experienced
physical violence (slapping, kicking and punching), 59.3% (n=38) reported verbal violence (insults, threats) and
10.7% (n=7) endured emotional violence. None was sexually assaulted. Predictors of domestic violence were the
woman’s age, marital status, disclosure and partner’s educational status. This calls for urgent steps and strategies for
prevention, protection and post-test counseling on disclosure to avert this human right infringement