“ that we use all kinds of precautions to prevent so that I don’t transmit the virus over to the girls” Glenda, 37 yrs old, Windhoek so I will be very careful of making sure
Disclosure to family members ended up being articulated as being means of accessing help, specially therapy adherence for people on therapy, or even for visitors to know very well what to accomplish when a one becomes ill. Those individuals with household members coping with HIV stated that having an HIV family that is positive made disclosure more feasible.
Many individuals described coping with HIV into the context of help in relationships. They were relationships with a family or partner people. Individuals proposed that disclosing your status to a lady partner or a lady family member ended up being much simpler rather than a male partner. For example, some lesbians coping with HIV claimed that gotten notions of feminine attributes (such as being caring, understanding and compassionate) of the individual being disclosed to managed to make it “easier” in order for them to divulge their status to partners that are female
“Females are extremely accommodative and extremely caring when compared with men. It becomes easier to tell another female (about your status) than as a female to have to tell a male person, males are very cruel” Phindi, 43 yrs old, Durban if you are in a relationship with another female
“Generally women can be more knowledge of these specific things than guys. Therefore, it will be easier for me personally redhead midget porn to share with a partner that is female my status than a lady to inform a guy. ” Lungile, 26 yrs old, Pretoria
Yet, for the next participant it had been do not to reveal a person’s status to individuals, since this might trigger concerns that a participant is not able to respond to. For anyone women that reported that they had never ever experienced intimate relations with males, that they had to cope with stigma and misconceptions about lesbians and HIV. Individuals‘ disclosure may expose them to prejudice, stigma and endless questions regarding the chance of transmission. In specific, the concerns constantly pertaining to the methods by which lesbians could transmit HIV to possibly each other, as previously mentioned previously:
“I do not would like them to learn. I do not understand the way they will feel be)cause I said I’m a lesbian and now I’m positive and they’ll have their minds twisted…” Puleng, 30 yrs old, Cape Town about me
HIV continues to be mostly considered a heterosexually sent condition in Africa (Johnson 2007). This excludes the greater amount of attention that is recent to males who possess intercourse with males in areas of photography equipment (Reddy, Sandfort and Rispel 2009). Within our research, individuals were not able to understand on their own just just just how HIV could be transmitted between possibly ladies. Firstly, it had been hard to allow them to reveal to other individuals the way they got infected as lesbians when they’re understood to not ever maintain intimate relations with guys. Next, the typical presumption and myth that lesbians are safe and it difficult for lesbians living with HIV to reconcile their realities with widely perceived notions of no risk that they cannot get HIV makes.
Accessing wellness solutions
Numerous individuals reported good experiences accessing medical care solutions. Individuals have been treatment that is accessing claimed that service distribution in terms of HIV care ended up being satisfactory. Nevertheless, there have been some participants whom suggested that negative attitudes of medical care providers and shortage of knowledge hindered individuals from accessing health that is public. Medical care providers had been described as having little, if any, details about lesbian health that is sexual. These attitudes and questions did, but, maybe perhaps perhaps not deter folks from looking for care, whether or not it implied planning to another supplier following a negative experience:
“The other time I experienced a challenge and went there to the hospital with my partner, then the nursing assistant said i have to keep coming back using the “man of this house”. Then, we revealed her my partner beside me. Yho! (a favorite South African exclamation denoting anger, shock or surprise) She, the nursing assistant, went outside and told a different one and it also ended up being like that they had seen a ghost. How they behaved, like our company is disgusting somehow. And that perplexed me personally and we also decided during those times to visit a personal medical practitioner where we knew for certain that individuals wouldn’t be judged. ” Gugu, 30 yrs old, Durban