Background:
The Protect and Respect Project is a prevention research project that aims to help women living with HIV decrease their sexual risk behaviors. Women in the intervention arm of the program (n=135) receive sexual risk reduction messages from a skills-based group-level-intervention (GLI) and Peer-led support groups.

Objective:
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is common among women living with HIV. Yet, using safer sex skills requires a willing and cooperative male partner. Therefore, this study examined the extent of and types of violence in participants' relationships. It is important to explore links between violence and safer sex to determine the implications for HIV prevention programs.

Method:
Researchers taped and transcribed GLI and Peer group sessions (n = 35 transcripts, 23 women) to conduct theme analysis using ATLAS.ti.5.0. Focusing on women's experiences with violent partners, two researchers reviewed a portion of the transcripts and developed a codebook outlining key themes. Then, the researchers employed the codebook to analyze transcripts.

Result:
Study participants were mostly African American and low-income. Analysis of the transcripts revealed four forms of violence in the lives of women in the program: emotional, economic, physical, and sexual violence. During group discussions the women also focused on the reasons they stay in relationships and what helps them leave.

Conclusion:
Experiences with violent partners were common among group participants. Conversations about violence dominated certain group sessions, making it difficult to talk about safer sex. Further, women expressed difficulties trying to use condoms and disclosing their HIV status to their partners in the contexts of these relationships

Implications:
Sexual risk reduction programs need to account for the type of relationships that women maintain. HIV prevention programs must screen for violence and help women access referrals, plan for safety, build support systems, and identify violent relationships.