Participants with HIV or at risk for HIV infection enrolled in the Women’s Interagency HIV Study. The study assessed childhood sexual abuse; all physical, sexual and coercive violence by a partner; HIV serostatus; demographic data; substance use; and sexual habits. The lifetime prevalence of domestic violence in 1,288 women with HIV and 357 non-infected women was 66 percent and 67 percent, respectively, . One - quarter of the women reported recent abuse, and 31 percent of the HIV-seropositive women and 27 percent of the HIV-seronegative women reported childhood sexual abuse. Childhood sexual abuse was strongly associated with a lifetime history of domestic violence and high-risk behaviors, including using drugs, having more than 10 male sexual partners and having male partners at risk for HIV infection, and exchanging sex for drugs, money or shelter. Data from this study support the hypothesis of a continuum of risk, with early childhood abuse leading to later domestic violence, which may increase the risk of behaviors leading to HIV infection. Tables, references