Voices and choices: speaking-up for HIV-positive women in Zimbabwe

Women with AIDS face neglect and prejudice all over the world.  Many are denied healthcare during pregnancy or forced to have abortions.  Some are sent away by their husband’s family to their parents’ home.  How can their situation be improved?  The International Community of Women living with HIV/AIDS set up a research project to find out the needs of HIV-positive women in Zimbabwe.  Women with the virus were chosen as team leaders and trained to carry out interviews.  Following the project these women were better able to represent the rights of HIV positive women and play an active role in raising AIDS awareness in their communities.

The project chose AIDS support groups from four different provinces.  The women came from urban and rural backgrounds, were from the two major ethnic groups in Zimbabwe, Shona and Ndebele, and had different income levels.  Each group elected a team leader who would be trained to carry out research and interviews.  A reproductive health and demographic survey was administered to 209 women over the four areas, followed by in-depth interviews with 59 women. Local three-day workshops were organised so that the HIV-positive women could talk to health workers and other community officials about their needs and concerns.

The research found that:

• women were given little information about HIV at the time of testing
• women had difficulty practising safer sex in their relationships, particularly if they were married
• HIV resulted in a loss of income which affected access to healthcare, including contraceptives, and household expenditures such as school fees and nourishing food
• HIV prevention was not discussed when women were given contraceptive advice
• women acquired more knowledge about HIV and safer sex from support groups and were eager for more information about sexual health and preventing mother to child HIV transmission
• HIV positive women's choices to have children were influenced by their relationship and number of children they already had rather than by their HIV status. Many had unintended pregnancies because of difficulties in obtaining or using contraceptives. It was almost impossible to obtain legal safe abortions.

As a result of the project:

• the local HIV support groups have gained more recognition
• team leaders spoke up for the rights of HIV-positive women in their areas
• the attitudes of nurses attending the workshops have begun to change
• relations between researchers and HIV-positive women improved.  The women no longer feel their experiences are used simply for research and without benefit for themselves.
• The team leaders have gained in confidence and skills, but they need continuing support to sustain advocacy successfully.

Source(s):
‘Positive women: voices and choices in Zimbabwe’, in ‘Realising rights:  transforming approaches to sexual and reproductive well-being’, A. Cornwall and A. Welbourn (eds), by R. Feldman, J. Manchester and C. Mapshere, 2002 Full document.
'Safer sex, contraception and reproductive choice: findings from the Positive Women and Choices project in Zimbabwe', Reproductive Health Matters 11(22), By R. Feldman and C. Maposhere, 2003 (forthcoming)
'Positive women: voices and choices - Zimbabwe report', International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS, by R. Feldman, J. Manchester and C. Maposhere, 2002

Funded by: Sida; Swiss Agency for Development and Co-operation (SDC); UK Department for International Development

id21 Research Highlight: 20 August 2003

Further Information:
Rayah Feldman
Faculty of Arts and Social Science
London South Bank University
103 Borough Road
London
SE1 0AA
UK

Tel: +44 (0)20 8985 3235
Contact the contributor: rayah@gn.apc.org