"If you build a hospital, this means nothing, as I won’t be able to access it because my husband will say no."

Mildred works for ActionAid Malawi as a women’s rights campaigner. She believes that the fight against HIV cannot be won unless women are at the centre of the struggle.

Back in 2006 Mildred helped to found a Coalition of Women Living with HIV and AIDS in Malawi. In just 2 years the coalition has grown to over 60,000 members and is a member of Women Won’t Wait, an international campaign to end violence against women and HIV and AIDS. Coalition members have been a driving force in lobbying the national government to do more to prevent violence against women.

Members are also helping to reduce the stigma of HIV in communities, so that women can be open about their status without fear of violence, and are working to ensure that violations of women and girls’ rights are not invisible. One girl, an orphan who was living with a relative, had been raped, impregnated and infected with HIV by her next door neighbour, a police officer. The coalition helped her to speak out about what happened, and she took her case to the authorities.

"Women make up the majority of people living with HIV and AIDS, and governments should stop treating them like the minority. Women’s rights must be the driver behind their work, they must demand that women’s rights are central to the projects they fund and make sure that countries are accountable on delivering. DFID and the Malawian government must prioritise women and deliver on their promises."

Ros Sokunthy volunteers with Women’s Network for Unity, a Cambodian based organisation which provides support to women in the sex trade and campaigns for their rights.

A third of Cambodians live on less than a dollar a day and women are worst off. For many poor families, sex work is the only means of survival.

Sex workers in Cambodia face violence, rape and abuse, from their clients, brothel owners and the police. They are also denied healthcare and other rights. Ros is campaigning to challenge this, and her colleagues say she is always at the front of demonstrations with the loudspeaker in her hand.

"Men in Cambodia have more power than women; they can be free while women have more constraints placed upon them and do not have the same opportunities.

"The UK government is a powerful one so it is important for them to understand what life is like for women and sex workers around the world. When a small group get behind an idea, it is hard to change things, but when the majority gets behind something then we can get governments to really consider our demands."

"40 million girls are currently out of education. Violence – on the way to school, in school toilets and yards, and even in classrooms - is the main reason."

In the UK when we think of violence in schools, most of us probably think about bullying. This is already serious, but in developing countries violence severe physical and even sexual abuse from both teachers and fellow pupils is not unusual. This puts young girls at risk of HIV infection.

Victorine works for ActionAid and runs an international campaign to persuade governments to recognise the problem of violence against girls in school. She is working with movements of teachers, pupils and women’s rights campaigners to persuade governments that they need to protect girls from violence in schools.

As a major funder of education in poor countries, she believes the UK can help – by supporting national campaigns, encouraging governments to face up to the problem and making sure that the education projects it funds tackle the issue of violence against girls.

"We need to transform girls by giving them the power to say no to unsafe sex, and only education can do this. But unless we address violence and the root cause of violence in schools we cannot create a safe environment for girls’ education, so we need to transform schools. When we transform the schools and give the power to the girls, we will change society."

Susana is 18 and lives in London. During her A-levels, she got sick of seeing injustice and poverty in the media and wanted to do more than just shout at the TV. So, Susana started volunteering for ActionAid, where she has been working with the campaigns team on the Put your foot down campaign.

"I really like the idea of people giving their shoes. You can put your stamp on the campaign; it demonstrates a stronger action and commitment than just signing a petition."

When she first got involved, Susana was shocked by the statistics on violence against women and HIV. "We all accept that everyone has the right to clean water. Women have the right to a life free from violence. Governments must bring in and uphold laws on violence, because otherwise the problem won’t go away."

Susana is planning to hold a shoe swapping party with lots of food and drink to get her friends involved in the campaign. In the UK we have the freedom and power to change things. Many women have no voice and it’s really important that we help these women to fight and to find their voice."