ABSTRACT
HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, is invisible without the aid of electron microscopy, yet it has the potential to precipitate every conceivable emotion. For some people its initial invisibility increases its sinister presence and fearevoking potential. For others, it allows scope for denial and the familiar coping strategy that assumes that HIV ‘happens to other people’. In this chapter we shall consider the feelings and needs of those who are HIV positive, most of which are experienced by both men and women. We shall however highlight those issues that have particular implications for women.
