After learning about the link between HIV and sexual and gender-based violence, the Rev Neila Ingram said what was on the minds of many women religious leaders: “So now I have work to go and do in my community and church.”
Ingram, an African Methodist Episcopal Church pastor, was one of about 30 women who attended a SAVE – or Safer Practices, Access to Treatment and Nutrition, Voluntary Testing and Counselling and Empowerment – workshop offered by the Jamaica Council of Churches in partnership with the World Council of Churches and the International Network of Religious Leaders Living with and Affected by HIV.
The workshop, held in St Ann, Jamaica, aimed to raise awareness among women religious leaders about HIV/AIDS and its relation to sexual and gender-based violence. The training is designed to motivate action to address these issues within local congregations and faith communities.