MIGRATORY PATHS, EXPERIENCES OF HIV/AIDS, AND SEXUALITY: AFRICAN WOMEN LIVING WITH HIV/AIDS IN FRANCE

The AIDS epidemic in Europe includes a growing number of women who have emigrated from sub-Saharan Africa. This contribution presents the results of a qualitative anthropological study on African women living with HIV/AIDS in France. It shows how their migratory paths - including the reasons for their migration and their social and administrative situation in the country - can have varying influences on how the disease is experienced in the context of migration. Married women who have established long-term residence in France experience HIV/AIDS as essentially a conjugal issue that can reinforce unequal relations between partners. For women who discovered they were HIV positive shortly after arriving in France, HIV/AIDS leads to social isolation, altered migratory plans, and greater vulnerability. For those who migrated to access medical treatment, the virus is the driving force behind the migratory strategies and a new socialization in France built around HIV/AIDS.