“I Don't Know Who to Blame”: Hiv-Positive South African Women Navigating Heterosexual Infection

Long, Carol

doi:10.1177/036168430903300307

Cited by 9 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…This quandary was resolved sooner for women with children, typically within the weeks after diagnosis. Studies in different contexts have documented that the main worry after an antenatal diagnosis was the deterrence of vertical transmission (Fletcher et al, 2016;Kelly et al, 2009;Kelly et al, 2012;Long 2009;McDonald, 2008;Willcocks et al, 2016). This study found that despite medical reassurance, the possibility of vertical transmission was a concern for both newly diagnosed mothers and pregnant women irrespective of the risk, suggesting that there was an exaggerated sense of the threat of potential infection in their children.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Frozen in a Moment in Time: The Experiences of Mothers Being Diagnosed With HIV Infection

Proudfoot¹

2018

Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Frozen in a Moment in Time: The Experiences of Mothers Being Diagnosed With HIV Infection

Proudfoot¹

2018

Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care

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“…Accordingly, women are often unable to insist on continuous condom-use in their long-term relationships as this may be construed as a sign of unfaithfulness or disobedience on their part, which could instigate abuse [66]. This is often compounded by gender inequalities in relationships, which compromise a woman's agency in negotiating the use of condoms in particular circumstances [5,66,67]. …”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Both female participants quoted above evidenced hurt and pain associated with betrayal and both did so with a sense of powerlessness and desperation that relegated them to the victim/spectator position [20]. This sense of helplessness associated with the victim role is as much a mirror to the gendered power differentials at play in men and women's negotiation of disclosure and betrayal, as it is a reflection of the co-option of women in reinforcing gendered constructions of victimology [5], which are predictive of negative relational and health outcomes for both partners [29,30].…”

Section: Living With Hiv: Vulnerability and Invincibilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Gendered constructions of the impact of HIV and AIDS in the context of the HIV‐positive seroconcordant heterosexual relationship

Bhagwanjee¹,

Govender²,

Reardon³

et al. 2013

Journal of the International AIDS Society

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IntroductionThis article explores the complex, dynamic and contextual frameworks within which men working in a mining community and their live-in long-term partners or spouses (termed “couples” in this study) respond to the introduction of HIV into their heterosexual relationships; the way in which partners adopt gendered positions in enabling them to make sense of their illness; how they negotiate their respective masculine and feminine roles in response to the need for HIV-related lifestyle changes; as well as the gendered nature of partner support in relation to antiretroviral therapy (ARV) adherence.MethodsWe conducted an in-depth qualitative study with a sample of 12 HIV-positive seroconcordant heterosexual couples in a South African mining organization. Transcripts based on semi-structured couple's interviews were analyzed using an inductive emergent thematic analytical method.ResultsThe findings present compelling evidence that the impact of HIV and AIDS is mitigated, in the main, by the nature of the dyadic relationship. Where power and agency were skewed in accordance with traditional gender scripts, the impact of HIV and AIDS was deleterious in terms of negotiating disclosure, meeting expectations of care and support, and promoting treatment adherence. As a corollary, the study also revealed that where the relational dynamic evidenced a more equitable distribution of power, the challenge of negotiating illness was embraced in a way that strengthened the couples’ affiliation in profound ways, manifested not simply in a reduction in risk behaviours, but in both partner's courage to re-visit sensitive issues related to managing their relationship in the context of a debilitating illness.ConclusionsGendered positioning (by self and others) was found to play a crucial role in the way couples experienced HIV and ARV treatment, and underscored the positive role of a couples-counselling approach in the negotiation of the illness experience. However, as part of a broader social project, the findings highlight the need to address the shortcomings of a public health discourse on illness normalization that reifies and reinforces skewed gender relations. In essence, the findings make a compelling case for targeting couples as the primary unit of analysis and intervention in HIV and AIDS praxis, not only to enhance treatment and prevention outcomes, but to impact on and potentially transform the lived identity of such relationships, in AIDS-affected communities. We recommend early intervention with couples in terms of couples HIV testing, risk-reduction counselling and gender-based interventions giving couples opportunities to revisit and challenge their prevailing gendered identities. We note, however, that these efforts will be undermined in the long term, if the structural drivers of HIV risk and vulnerability, contained within macro-level social, economic and cultural practices, are not simultaneously addressed.

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“…Previous approaches have suggested that social representations of HIV-infected women present them as threatening and "bad", even when associated with the positive construct of motherhood (Long, 2009b). Representations of HIV-positive motherhood further extend to the social stereotype of the deviant or "bad" mother, a societal scapegoat who is identified as one who is unable to or fails to protect her child from harm, juxtaposed against the "good" mother who is revered as nurturing and self-sacrificing (Ladd-Taylor & Umansky, 1998).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

HIV-infected women's experiences of pregnancy and motherhood in Cape Town, South Africa

Stinson

Myer

2012

Vulnerable Children and Youth Studies

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Antenatal services provide a valuable opportunity for the uptake of prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV interventions and antiretroviral treatment (ART) for maternal health. While knowledge of HIV status during pregnancy is beneficial to both mother and child, PMTCT programmes may focus more on prevention and the physical aspects of health than the psychosocial impact of HIV on pregnancy and motherhood. The objective of this study was to examine South African women's perceptions of HIV infection in pregnancy and how they related to motherhood in the context of HIV infection. In-depth interviews were conducted with 17 HIV-positive pregnant and 11 ≤ 6-month postpartum women to elicit perspectives on HIV-positive pregnancy and motherhood. For most women who tested in pregnancy, the primary rationale for testing stemmed from a concern for their children; and anxiety around the risk of vertical transmission was highly prevalent. Women did not perceive any superficial differences between themselves and non-infected pregnant women and they compared HIV to any other chronic condition. However, they voiced anxiety about being infected and were preoccupied with keeping their children safe, both in pregnancy and postpartum. They described a diminished sense of pride about motherhood and an additional burden of guilt associated with carrying a vulnerable child, which made pregnancy different for them in comparison to uninfected women. Feeding posed a particularly difficult issue because by choosing formula feeding, women were protecting their children, yet this seemed to diminish their status as a mother, while at the same time publicising messages about being infected with HIV. While women identified externally with the social value of motherhood, the burden of HIV infection was seen as a destabilising threat to their identity as mothers.

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“I Don't Know Who to Blame”: Hiv-Positive South African Women Navigating Heterosexual Infection

Cited by 9 publications

References 33 publications

Frozen in a Moment in Time: The Experiences of Mothers Being Diagnosed With HIV Infection

Frozen in a Moment in Time: The Experiences of Mothers Being Diagnosed With HIV Infection

Gendered constructions of the impact of HIV and AIDS in the context of the HIV‐positive seroconcordant heterosexual relationship

HIV-infected women's experiences of pregnancy and motherhood in Cape Town, South Africa

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