Perceptions of risk and level of precaution used to prevent HIV/AIDS infection : A study of Zimbabwean migrant women living in Johannesburg

Abstract

Perception of risk was used as an independent variable and behaviour as the dependent variable in the research with the assumption that level of precaution used during sexual practices to safeguard against HIV infection will be positively related to the perception of risk to HIV. The conclusiveness of this approach was dependent on evidence that participants know what risky behaviour can contribute to contracting HIV/AIDS and on their willingness to report their risk perception honestly. A snowball sample consisting of 15 Zimbabwean women living in and around Johannesburg was employed. Research objectives were addressed through semistructured interviews. For all participants, perception of risk was qualified by a number of factors. Common precautionary strategies identified by women were to remain faithful to one partner and being more contemplative when choosing bed partners and using condoms. High risk perception was marked by having had various sexual partners, inconsistently using condoms, fear of sexual violence, mistrust of partners, feeling of fear of vulnerability to HIV whenever they had sex and survival concerns. Migrant women’s adoption of safe sex was limited by their circumstances and strategies of risk management and in particular their biases in assumptions about their partners’ sexual histories. This exposes them to the vulnerabilities of HIV/AIDS. Thematic analysis was used to interpret the data.