Liens sociaux, secrets et confidences. Le cas des femmes migrantes d’Afrique subsaharienne et séropositives

Abstract

Hiv-positive women migrating from sub-Saharan Africa combine vulnerabilities. Based on qualitative research carried out among 30 hiv-positive women, this article proposes to analyse how they integrate themselves into various social spheres (familial, professional, community, etc.) and create diverse types of ties. While their legal status, migratory experience, origins, social precariousness and gender tend to orient their practices of sociability, we will show that using secrecy as a strategy in managing information relative to their HIV status remains the crucial factor in how the women questioned organize their social relations. Social proximity and affective investment figure strongly in medical and associative environments, whereas by fear of stigmatization, they are less present in African communities, which reduces the possibilities of mutual aid and solidarity. Strongly linked to negative representations of HIV/aids, the practice of secrecy also influences relationships within the family and couple, where support and violence intermingle.

Keywords

• HIV/aids
• migration
• sub-Saharan Africa
• social ties
• secrecy