Disclosure of Hiv status to sexual partners among people who ...

In the FGD a female participant who also found out about her status while attending the
antenatal clinic said,
I was still young when I found out that I was HIV positive. I had gone to the clinic
expecting our second child. There the health workers conduct routine HIV tests
for pregnant women. When I went back home, I blamed my husband for bringing
the infection into the family
[Female, 32 years, married]
In these two cases above, it is interesting to note that when the spouses went to take the
HIV test, they were found HIV negative.
4.4.5 Anxiety about the future
Some clients foresee some of the crises they might encounter in the future and this forces
them to disclose. In the study, among individual participants interviewed,one participant
who had been mistreated by her family members after disclosure decided to disclose to
her partner because she was depressed and was planning to commit suicide; yet the
partner was understanding and supportive.
I disclosed to my spouse about my HIV status as soon as we left my parents’ home
because I now felt I was useless having seen helpless people with AIDS. I had
planned to commit suicide and wanted my partner to know why since at the time
he was the only one willing to support me unlike my parents who had rejected me.
[Female, 35 years, married]
4.5 Barriers to disclosure
While TASO clients appreciate the importance of disclosure, there are difficulties that are
rooted in the fear of the implications associated with disclosure. The participants who did
not disclose to their partners mentioned such reasons as; fear of blame, fear of
abandonment, fear of negative reactions, stigma and discrimination.
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