Vulnerabilidade, gênero e HIV: um estudo sobre mulheres e homens heterossexuais, Brasil - 1998

Abstract

This dissertation analyses heterosexual vulnerability to HIV emphasizing the role played by gender relations. Vulnerability is defined by the association of the pattern of exposure to risk of HIV infection and the ability to answer (which includes both the individual skills to prevent infection and the change of behavior). Methodologically, the study inter-relates quantitative and qualitative approaches. Grade of Membership (GoM) analysis was used to build a vulnerability typology for a sample of 3068 self-identified heterosexual individuals aged 16 to 65 years, and of urban residence. Types of more interest were: a) circumstantially not exposed individuals, a group of individuals, predominantly women, aged 16 to 19 years who still havent had their first intercourse but exhibit low ability to answer to an eventual materialization of risk through sexual contact.; b) highly exposed individuals with high ability to answer, a type predominantly formed by men with the riskiest sexual practices and the highest ability to respond to risk in the sample; and, c) exposed individuals with low ability to answer a type predominantly formed by women and men of disadvantaged socioeconomic conditions, with slight exposure to the risk of infection and few skills to prevent it. The latest group exhibited the highest degree of vulnerability and was further investigated by analyzing the transcriptions of 40 in-depth interviews with women and men whose characteristics are similar to those of the target type. Findings are useful to comprehend the interplay among gender relations and vulnerability to HIV infection.