It is not easy to compare this level of disclosure with
those found in studies of other groups, but at first glance
it would appear that the women in this cohort were
significantly less likely than others to disclose their
status.4 If so, this is likely to reflect in part the overall
insecurity of their situation, and in part, the high levels
of perceived hostility in their community. It may also
reflect the fact that close family members who would
normally have been the recipients of such confidences
were frequently far away. Decisions to delay telling
sexual partners or to avoid doing so was explained by
most as a way of protecting themselves from possible
loss of the partner or from physical or verbal abuse. ‘It
took me about 11 months to tell him. I had prepared
myself in case he throws me out of the house’