Women and children are disproportionately affected by HIV.118 Chipo was confirmed HIV positive in 1996. She told Human Rights Watch: We found out about our (HIV) status when my child was three months old. My husband died in 1998 and my child and I were very ill but then I became a member of a centre which looks after HIV positive people. My son and I have been on ARVs and we were both doing fine. We received counseling, spiritual and psychological as well as nutritional help. But now I am under stress. Three weeks ago the police came and told us to destroy our houses. They had guns and we had no choice. We destroyed them. My son and I have been sleeping outside with our furniture for the past two weeks. I used to sell vegetables to survive but now I can’t anymore. I rely on an organization that looks after widows for food. It’s very difficult. My son and I are still able to get treatment but I don’t know what will happen if the police come back. They have said they will come back to make sure that we have all left for the rural areas. I am very worried. My mind is not at ease. And my son and I, what will we do if we go to the rural areas? I don’t know if we will be able to get treatment. My mind is not at peace. I don’t know.119 A UN agency assessment report on June 20 stated: “The hardships and high mobility triggered by the operation have seen patients either receiving less attention and care or being abandoned all together.” It went on to observe that quality and holistic care was in jeopardy and that prevention activities had been discontinued including ARV distribution due to the evictions.120 This was echoed by Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights (ZADHR) who in a press statement stated that the mass forced evictions and demolitions would result in “the exacerbation of the HIV/AIDS epidemic as community structures are fractured and dispersed.”121 118 Human Rights Watch. Policy Paralysis, December 2003. 119 Human Rights Watch interview, Harare, June 25, 2005. Special Bulletin ‘Operation Restore Order and Murambatsvina,’ Office of the Humanitarian Coordinator/ Humanitarian Supports Team, June 20, 2005. 120 121 SW Radio Africa, “Evictions disrupt HIV/AIDS treatment programmes,” July 6, 2005. 30