《CENTRE FOR SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH》.pdf

CENTRE FOR SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH Aids and Society Research Unit WHY DO PEOPLE DISCLOSE THEIR HIV STATUS? QUALITATIVE EVIDENCE FROM A GROUP OF ACTIVIST WOMEN IN KHAYELITSHA Colin Almeleh CSSR Working Paper No. 163 August 2006 Colin Almeleh is the Co-ordinator of the Mapping our Lives Outreach Programme and a Master’s student in the AIDS and Society Research Unit (ASRU) within the Centre for Social Science Research (CSSR), University of Cape Town. Why do People Disclose their HIV Status? Qualitative Evidence from a Group of Activist Women in Khayelitsha Abstract This study explores the bio-psychosocial context of HIV/AIDS in which eleven HIV-positive activist women from Khayelitsha negotiate the process of disclosing their HIV-positive serostatus to significant others, specifically biological household members. The study is based on the narratives of a group of HIV-positive peer-educators in Cape Town, South Africa. The results suggest that people’s perceptions of HIV/AIDS are shaped by a wide variety of factors including: the context-laden nature of HI V/AIDS stigma in their communities; their understanding of the source of illness and misfortune; the prevalence of AIDS-denialism in South Africa; the avai lability of life prolonging highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), and their exposure to ‘treatment literacy’ and HIV/AIDS-education initiatives. The decision to disclose HIV status to others occurs within this shifting web of meanings, and in turn, reshapes t