JOHANNESBURG, April 25 (Xinhua) -- HIV-positive women in developing countries are less likely to reveal their status compared with their counterparts in industrialized world, a study by the World Health Organization (WHO) has shown.

    Only 52 percent of women in developing nations will tell their partners they are HIV positive, compared to 71 percent in industrialized countries, Lori Heise, head of the WHO research, told an international AIDS conference in Cape Town, South Africa, on Tuesday.

    However, women who disclose their HIV status to their partners are unlikely to be beaten, despite common misperceptions that it could increase their risk.

    The research was conducted among more than 24,000 women in Namibia, Peru, Ethiopia, Thailand, Brazil, Tanzania, Serbia, Samoa, New Zealand, Bangladesh and Japan.

    "Actual rates of violence when women disclose are relatively rare. Women beaten upon disclosure are most likely to be in an existing violent relationship," Heise was quoted as saying by the SAPA news agency.

    The study showed that women in Peru experienced the highest rate of domestic violence, 61 percent, followed by 49 percent in Ethiopia and 13 percent in Japan, the lowest.

    However, rates of sexual abuse were highest in Africa with 59 percent of women surveyed in Ethiopia reporting having experienced rape and 31 percent in Tanzania, with only four percent in Serbia and Japan.

    Heise said women were "more likely to beaten or raped by their partners or husband than anyone else. One exception is Samoa where there is a high rate of stranger rape."

    In Peru, Bangladesh, Ethiopia and Tanzania, a third to more than half (54 percent) of women experience violence in relationships.

    Women prone to sexual violence run much higher risk of contracting HIV, researchers said.

    The ongoing conference focused on research and development of vaginal microbicide gels that scientists believe could help prevent HIV infections among women who can not negotiate the use of condom by their partners. Enditem