The Relationship Between Culture, Gender, Structural Factors, Abuse, Trauma, and HIV/AIDS for Latinas

Abstract

The study, in which the author aim to understand the contextual risks of HIV-positive serostatus and intimate partner violence (IPV) of 32 Latina women, involved focus groups, in-depth face-to-face narratives, and community meetings. The data emerged into four themes: histories of trauma, living with HIV, vulnerability, and la suerte (luck). In addition to the themes, women in this study talked about how structural and cultural factors such as machismo, marianismo, and fatalism are implicated in the risk for HIV and IPV. Women in the study reconceptualized the notion of IPV to denote a form of situational abuse, such as threats of deportation, that is exacerbated by their HIV status.