Resistance to vulnerability. The relational agency of HIV-positive African women in a migratory context
Women of sub-Saharan origin and HIV-positive in a migratory context cumulate vulnerabilities, understood as situations that expose to risks of discrimination, exclusion and exploitation. Drawing on qualitative interviews conducted in Switzerland, we argue that in the face of these risks, women show relational agency. They carefully select their confidants so that they react positively to the HIV disclosure without peddling the information. In so doing, these women activate links that generate resources to manage their daily lives with HIV. Thanks to these resources, and through the intersectionality of vulnerabilities, social risks related to the status of women, migrants and HIV-positive do not become issues. This happens in life stories that take place in different material, social and sanitary conditions. For the vast majority of the interviewees, these conditions are precarious, while for some interviewees they are more privileged.
Keywords
- Relational agency
- Women
- Migration
- HIV/Aids
- Vulnerabilities
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Publication information
Institutions:
Publisher:
Terrains & travaux 2018/2 (N° 33), pp. 153-174
Languages:
French
City:
Gif sur Yvette
Year:
2018
Themes:
Disciplines:
Research labels:
Migration – asylum
Health – medicine
Vulnerability
Subjects:
Sociology
Projects:
Genres:
Article