In the shadow of HIV

Fear, rumor, and stigma among young women living with HIV in Covid-19 pandemic in Western Kenya

Bibliographic Data

ID5651061
AuthorsMariam Florence Yusuf (0000-0002-9584-9124, Institute of Anthropology, Gender and African Studies University of Nairobi Nairobi Kenya, corresponding author), Washington Onyango-Ouma (0000-0002-2723-7900, University of Nairobi), Washington Onyango‐ouma (Institute of Anthropology, Gender and African Studies University of Nairobi Nairobi Kenya), Ruth J Prince (0000-0001-8717-9063, Institute of Health and Society University of Oslo Oslo Norway), P W Geissler (0000-0003-4724-5593, Department of Social Anthropology University of Oslo Oslo Norway)
Year2025
Pagese70026-e70026
Publication date2025-10-22
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueMedical Anthropology Quarterly (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0745-5194 • E-ISSN: 1548-1387
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/maq.70026
PMID41124378
OpenAlexW4415440045
LanguageEN
References cited37

Drawing on ethnographic research in Dudi village in Western Kenya, this article explores how the lingering legacies of the 1990s HIV/AIDS epidemic shaped local perceptions of, and responses to, the COVID-19 pandemic and related vaccine controversies. Focusing on the lives of young women living with HIV, the article traces how their experiences of navigating HIV care, stigma, and gendered expectations intersected with anxieties around COVID-19 vaccination. These narratives are embedded within a broader historical and social landscape marked by grief, moral judgement, and structural exclusion. Past experiences with HIV are shown to inform contemporary fears around vaccination, reigniting multi-layered forms of stigma and casting women's bodies as sites of risk, suspicion, and control. By situating these responses within the long shadow of the AIDS epidemic, the article highlights how disease, memory, and gendered moralities continue to shape health experiences and interventions in deeply unequal ways

HIV, Drug Use, Sexual Risk · HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions · Sex work and related issues