“You Comfort Yourself and Believe in Yourself”: Exploring Lived Experiences of Stigma in HIV-Positive Kenyan Women

Abstract

HIV-related stigma has a negative effect on women's health and can hinder interventions aimed at eradicating HIV. In Kenya, women withstand the worst of HIV-related stigma, because they are the most affected. In this longitudinal qualitative study, we explored experiences of stigma among 54 HIV-positive Kenyan women. Using Goffman's stigma definition and Foucault's social construction of stigma to analyze women's narratives, two main themes emerged: (1) women's experience of socially constructed HIV-related stigma and (2) women's resistance of socially constructed HIV-related stigma. Even though women are creative in resisting HIV-related stigma, psychological impact of stigma can hinder HIV prevention, care, treatment, and support. Interventions that empower women are critical in reducing HIV-related stigma.