«You have AIDS, who is going to want you around?»: intersections between HIV infection and intimate partner violence

Abstract

This work consists of a qualitative exploration in the intersection of intimate partner violence (IPV) towards women and HIV infection through the perception of seven health care and NGO professionals seeing women with HIV infection and/or women suffering IPV in Madrid. Semi structured interviews were conducted and the data were analyzed using techniques based on the grounded theory. Interviews identified how HIV infection multiplies psychological violence (blackmail, threats, devaluation, etc.) because of HIV social stigmatization and some HIV treatments side effects (lipodystrophy). Professionals’ discourses showed a dissasociated vision of both public health problems, which suggests the need to re-conceptualize social and sanitary attention and strategic planning of both IPV and HIV.

Keywords

• vih
• sida
• violencia del compañero íntimo (vci)
• violencia de género
• estigma
• mujeres