Intimate partner violence in indigenous women with HIV in southern Mexico

Introduction: in contexts where gender inequality exists, women living with HIV are at greater risk of suffering different types of violence, once they have revealed the diagnosis to their partners. Objective: to investigate the experiences of intimate partner violence in indigenous women, after HIV infection, in southern Mexico. Method: we applied a qualitative ethnographic study. The information was triangulated through participant observation and semi -structured face-to-face interviews with 10 indigenous women from three indigenous communities of the Chinantec ethnic group. The discussions focused on changes in relationships with the couple, and whether there had been violence, exclusion, or financial support. Analysis of critical discourse was carried out in a traditional way. Results: women experience violence associated with their condition of being HIV positive, in the domestic sphere. Indigenous women prioritize economic violence more, making other types of aggression invisible. Conclusion: these types of violence experienced by these women need to be problematized from a human rights, gender and public health perspective through researchers and health professionals.