ABSTRACT
This chapter explores how the sexual behavior of women and men changes after they learn of their HIV-positive status. Conventional biomedical approaches suggest that people who seek medical care are open about their health status, and that in combination with access to antiretroviral treatments (ARVs), such openness can prevent HIV-positive people from further transmitting the virus. The chapter is based on a long-term in-depth study of the social aspects of HIV/ AIDS in the Kilimanjaro region, northeast Tanzania. Kilimanjaro region is not the poorest region of Tanzania. Nevertheless, poverty is widespread, especially in the rural areas. The chapter highlights three positive, but inconclusive, developments to which HIV-positive women are resorting. Increased public discussion about HIV and sexuality within communities makes the use of condoms more acceptable, even in long-term relationships. Groups of women realize that there is economic and social strength in organizing in women-only productive groups.
