Description/Overview: Worldwide, 33 million people are infected with HIV, more than half of them being women and girls. In the United States, 1.3 million people are currently living with HIV. Globally and in the United States, women are becoming infected with HIV at increasing rates when compared to men. Research has shown associations between intimate partner violence (IPV) and higher rates of HIV among women. Forced sex, reproductive coercion and physical and psychological abuse have all been shown to increase a women’s risk for HIV infection. Further, these characteristics are linked individually to poor treatment outcomes for women living with HIV. The associations between the epidemics of violence against women and HIV have been explored in the literature, and several potential pathways of HIV acquisition among abused women have been postulated, such as increases in personal and abusive partner sexual risk behavior, increased drug and alcohol use, and increases in sexually transmitted infections, as well as acute and chronic stress responses leading to weakened immune response and greater HIV susceptibility and more rapid disease progression. In addition to increased risk of HIV acquisition, more recent work has highlighted the impact that continued IPV has on women's adherence to care and medications. This symposium will present data from studies conducted in Baltimore, MD and the US Virgin Islands regarding the impact of IPV on women’s HIV risk behaviors and adherence to HIV care. Following discussion of a conceptual framework highlighting the complex and overlapping biologic and behavioral components of the IPV and HIV, quantitative and qualitative data will be presented on: men and women's perceptions of gender roles, intimate partner violence and their impact on HIV risk behaviors and development of culturally tailored interventions for HIV and IPV prevention in the US Virgin Islands; women's risk factors for HIV acquisition; and IPV, substance abuse, mental health and medication adherence for women living with HIV.