Herlyn Uiras was 16 years old when she and a friend were hitchhiking with a group of men in their native Namibia. Persuaded to go to South Africa because of the wealth and opportunities that the country offered, Uiras and her friend were blindfolded at the border, transported to the community of Potchefstroom, and raped. Urging the rapist to use a condom, he complied, but later laughed when the condom broke. Later, Uiras found herself in Johannesburg, where she again tried to negotiate condom use during sex, but was unsuccessful. After becoming sick and being hospitalized, Uiras learned of her HIV-positive diagnosis.

Now 23 years old, Uiras shared her story in front of nearly 500 Christian religious leaders and delegates during the Ecumenical Pre-Conference to the XVII International AIDS Conference in Mexico City. Not commonly a topic of discussion in religious circles, gender-based violence and human trafficking was given its own plenary session and six workshop slots during the three-day event leading up to the world's largest conference on a single health issue.

"Many faith-based organizations are ill-prepared to deal with gender based violence and HIV and AIDS," stated Pauline Muchina, Senior Women and AIDS Advocacy Officer at UNAIDS, and member of the Anglican Church in Kenya. She noted that religion has often been used to perpetuate gender based violence, promote patriarchal views, and that churches have too often remained silent on the issue. In a workshop earlier in the pre-conference Muchina said that the church needs to re-educate its members, rethink its teachings on gender, and involve men, boys and male religious leaders in its response to gender based violence.

However, Muchina noted, there are already some faith-based organizations involved in addressing gender based violence. She cited the Malawi Ecumenical Counseling Center, which has created a manual on gender based violence for religious leaders, and the Salvation Army, which offers advocacy and a rehabilitative program for trafficking survivors. Uiras herself is now working with Churches United Against HIV and AIDS in Southern and Eastern Africa (CUAHA), a network of churches that has pledged to target human trafficking into South Africa in light of that country hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup by helping victims, training counselors, and educating police about the dangers and potentials of trafficking.

Reflecting on her own experience of being molested as a child, Kay Warren, Executive Director of the HIV/AIDS Initiative at Saddleback Church, a mega-church in Lake Forest, California, said she felt like her church couldn't help her deal with her experience. Today her church has raised the issue of sexual, physical and emotional violence during church services, organized support groups for survivors, and created a resources page on its website.

Is the focus on gender based violence in this Christian conference, and the handful of churches already addressing it an encouraging sign that churches are moving past patriarchy and coming to term with a reality that affects an estimated 1 in 3 women worldwide? A packed session room for a workshop on addressing sexuality and masculinity in the church, and research presented by an evangelical Christian organization that presented a program that was successful in changing gender attitudes and cultural norms among churchgoers in two African countries show signs of hope.

With 500 Christians attending the pre-conference, and an estimated 1.5 billion followers worldwide, the true test will come over time. Creating a fora for dialogue on gender based violence and human trafficking amongst religious leaders and people of faith involved in the global response to HIV is just the beginning, but sends a clear message to churches that it is time to stop the silence and inaction surrounding these issues.