African Journal of Disability. Login Register. Facebook LinkedIn Twitter. Article Tools Abstract. Print this article. Indexing metadata. How to cite item. Finding References. Email this article Login required. Email the author Login required. Hide Show all. The Authors. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Open Access. Article Information. Disabling sexualities: Exploring the impact of the intersection of HIV, disability and gender on the sexualities of women in Zambia. In This Original Research Furthermore, there is a void of research about the experience of people with disabilities following diagnosis with HIV.
Little is known about how HIV diagnosis intersects with disability and gender and how it shapes the experiences of intimacy and gender roles of those negotiating this intersection. Objective: The objective of this study was to explore how HIV, disability and gender shape the perspectives of HIV-positive women with disabilities regarding intimacy and gender roles.
Methods: Twelve women in Lusaka, Zambia were recruited for in-depth semi-structured interviews to explore their experiences of having a disability and living with HIV. Interviews were conducted in English, Bemba, Nyanja and Zambian sign language. Descriptive and thematic analyses were conducted, followed by in-depth gender analyses of data relating to intimacy and gender roles.
Results: Data analysis led to the identification of two main themes: the impact of HIV diagnosis on intimate relationships amongst the participants; and the disruption and renegotiation of gender roles. Conclusions: The narrow approaches to sexuality and HIV that reinforce misconceptions and stereotypes need to change.
